G.  A.  Birmingham 


4V 


*/ 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 


BY  G.  A.  BIRMINGHAM 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

GOSSAMER 

MINNIE'S  BISHOP  AND  OTHER  STORIES 

GENERAL  JOHN  REGAN 

THE  LOST  TRIBES 

SPANISH  GOLD 

LALAGE'S  LOVERS 

THE  SEARCH  PARTY 

THE  SIMPKINS  PLOT 

THE  MAJOR'S  NIECB 

PRISCILLA'S  SPIES 

THE  RED  HAND  OF  ULSTER 

THE  ADVENTURES  OF  DR.  WHITTT 

THE  SEETHING  POT 

THE  BAD  TIMES 

HYACINTH 

FROM  DUBLIN  TO  CHICAGO 


NEW  YORK 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


THE 

ISLAND  MYSTERY 


BY 

G.  A.  BIRMINGHAM 

Author  of  "Gossamer,"  "General  John  Regan," 
"Spanish  Gold,"  etc. 


NEW  YORK 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


Copyright,  1918, 
By  George  H.  Doran  Company 


Copyright,  1918, 
By  The  Frank  A.  Munsey  Company 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


TO 

THEODOSIA 

WHOSE  DISLIKE  OF  SUBTLE  BOOKS 

AND  "BRAINY"  PEOPLE  i  SHARE 


•  v 


061610 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 


THE 

ISLAND  MYSTERY 

CHAPTER  I 

IN  1914  there  were  not  twenty  men  in  England 
who  had  ever  heard  of  the  island  of  Salissa. 
Even  now — I  am  writing  in  the  spring  of  1917 — 
the  public  is  very  bady  informed  about  the  events 
which  gave  the  island  a  certain  importance  in  the 
history  of  the  war.  A  couple  of  months  ago  I  asked 
a  well-known  press-cutting  agency  to  supply  me 
with  a  complete  collection  of  all  references  to  Salissa 
which  had  appeared  in  our  newspapers.  I  received 
a  single  short  paragraph  from  a  second-rate  society 
weekly.  It  ran  thus : 

"Is  it  true  that  our  new  Minister  for  Balkan 
Problems  has  a  curious  story  to  tell  about  a  certain 
island  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  is  there  a  lady  in 
the  case?" 

The  Minister  referred  to  is,  of  course,  Sir  Bar- 
tholomew Bland-Potterton.  The  island  must  be  Sa- 
lissa. It  is  a  clear  proof,  if  proof  is  required,  of 
the  efficiency  of  our  press  censorship  that  this  should 


io  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

be  the  only  reference  to  the  island  in  any  newspaper 
in  the  course  of  three  years.  We  have  blundered  a 
good  deal  during  the  war;  but  it  cannot  be  said  of 
us  that  we  have  allowed  our  press  to  supply  the 
enemy  or  any  one  else  with  information  likely  to  be 
of  value. 

Such  knowledge  as  the  public  now  possesses  has 
come  to  it,  not  through  newspapers,  but  by  way  of 
gossip.  Sir  Bartholomew  sometimes  talks,  and  the 
words  of  a  man  in  his  position  are  repeated  in  the 
smoking-rooms  of  clubs,  round  tea  tables  and  else- 
where. Unfortunately  gossip  of  this  kind  is  most 
unreliable.  The  tendency  is  to  exaggerate  the  pic- 
turesque parts  of  the  story  and  to  misinterpret 
motives.  It  is  slanderous,  for  instance,  to  suggest 
that  Sir  Bartholomew  was  in  any  way  attracted 
by  the  lady  who  bore  the  title  of  Queen  of  Salissa. 
He  never  spoke  to  her  or  even  saw  her.  His  interest 
in  the  Salissa  affair  was  that  of  a  patriotic  states- 
man. He  told  me  this  himself,  yesterday  after  din- 
ner. 

It  was  Sir  Bartholomew  who  drew  my  attention 
to  the  exhaustive  monograph  on  the  Island  of  Sa- 
lissa written  by  Professor  Homer  Geldes,  of  Pear- 
mount  University,  Pa.,  U.S.A.  The  book  was  pub- 
lished ten  years  ago,  but  has  never  been  widely  read. 
I  am  indebted  to  the  professor  for  the  following 
information. 

Salissa  is  derived  by  Professor  Geldes  from  a 
Greek  word  Psalis,  which  means  an  arched  viaduct. 
It  is  a  doubtful  piece  of  etymology,  but  if  it  were 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  n 

reliable  the  name  seems  appropriate  enough.  The 
island,  according  to  the  maps  published  in  the  book, 
appears  to  be  a  kind  of  roof  supported  by  the  walls 
of  caverns.  It  is  possible  that  the  professor  has 
exaggerated  this  peculiarity.  He  was  naturally 
anxious  to  make  good  his  derivation  of  the  name. 
But  there  are  certainly  many  caves  under  the  fields 
and  vineyards  of  Salissa.  There  is  one  excellent 
natural  harbour,  a  bay,  about  a  mile  wide,  in  the 
south  coast  of  the  island.  It  is  protected  from  heavy 
seas  by  a  reef  of  rock,  a  natural  breakwater,  which 
stretches  across  and  almost  blocks  the  entrance  of 
the  bay. 

In  the  chapter  on  Ethnography  I  find  that  the 
people  are  of  a  mixed  race.  A  Salissan,  I  gather, 
might  boast  with  equal  truth  of  being  a  Greek,  a 
Turk,  a  Slav,  or  an  Italian.  His  skull  is  dolicho- 
cephalic. His  facial  angle — but  it  is  better  for  any 
one  interested  in  these  points  to  read  Professor 
Geldes'  book  for  himself.  No  regular  census  has 
ever  been  made  on  the  island;  but  in  1907  there 
were  forty-three  inhabitants.  The  number  has 
probably  increased  since  then. 

The  principal  industries  are  set  down,  rather 
grandiloquently,  as  agriculture  and  fishing.  A  small 
quantity  of  poor  wine  is  made  by  the  inhabitants  for 
their  own  use.  The  religion  of  these  islanders,  like 
their  race,  is  mixed.  It  seems  to  consist  of  some 
vague  pagan  beliefs  and  the  observance  of  a  few 
Christian  ceremonies.  The  people  are  not  in  any 
way  bigoted.  Their  priesthood — if  it  can  be  called 


12  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

a  priesthood — is  patriarchal.  There  are  no  taxes, 
no  police,  no  courts  of  justice,  no  regular  laws, 
indeed  no  government,  though  the  island  is,  or  was, 
part  of  the  Kingdom  of  Megalia. 

My  friend  Gorman,  who  spent  some  time  there, 
says  that  Salissa  was  a  delightful  place  to  live  on 
until  the  Great  Powers  discovered  its  existence.  But 
I  do  not  quote  Gorman  as  a  reliable  authority  on  a 
question  of  this  kind.  He  is  an  Irishman,  Member 
of  Parliament  for  Upper  Offaly,  and  therefore  nat- 
urally at  home  on  an  island  with  no  government. 
There  are  people  who  prefer  to  live  under  settled 
conditions,  who  like  paying  taxes,  who  appreciate 
policemen.  It  is  not  likely  that  they  would  have 
been  happy  on  Salissa  three  years  ago.  They  would 
certainly  not  like  to  live  there  now. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add — any  one  who 
possesses  an  atlas  can  find  this  out  for  himself — 
that  Salissa  lies  47  miles  (nautical)  south-east  of 
the  nearest  point  of  the  Megalian  coast,  and  thus 
occupies  a  position  of  supreme  strategic  importance. 
Sir  Bartholomew  kindly  allows  me  to  quote  him  on 
this  subject.  I  took  down  the  words  he  used  and 
read  them  over  to  him  afterwards. 

"The  Power,"  he  said,  "which  controls  the  Near 
East  controls  the  world.  The  Power  which  domin- 
ates the  Cyrenian  Sea  holds  the  Near  East  in  its 
grasp.  The  Island  of  Salissa  is  the  keystone  of  the 
Cyrenian  Sea.  The  German  dream  of  world  power 
depends,  at  the  last  analysis,  on  the  use  of  the 
Island  of  Salissa  as  a  submarine  base." 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  13 

This  reads  like  a  quotation  from  a  political  speech. 
It  is  nothing  of  the  sort.  Sir  Bartholomew  always 
talks  in  that  way.  He  made  this  statement  to  me 
yesterday  evening  after  dinner,  when  I  told  him  that 
I  had  undertaken  to  write  the  story  of  recent  events 
in  the  island.  The  pronouncement,  coming  from  a 
man  like  Sir  Bartholomew,  admittedly  the  greatest 
living  authority  on  all  Near  Eastern  questions,  jus- 
tifies the  writing  of  this  book. 

Whether  I  am  the  man  to  attempt  the  work  is 
another  question.  Gorman,  Michael  Gorman,  M.P., 
would  no  doubt  do  it  better.  Though  he  has  no 
financial  interests  in  the  island,  he  was  mixed  up 
in  its  affairs  and  knows  a  great  deal  about  them. 
But  Gorman  will  not  do  it.  He  says,  perhaps  truly, 
that  there  is  no  money  in  histories  of  recent  events. 
William  Peter  Donovan  paid  heavily  for  his  knowl- 
edge of  Salissa  and  is  certainly  entitled  to  such 
credit  as  may  be  won  by  writing  a  history  of  the 
recent  troubles.  But  Donovan  has  devoted  his  later 
years  to  the  cult  of  indolence,  and  he  suffers  from 
disordered  action  of  the  heart.  Miss  Daisy  Dono- 
van— I  prefer  to  use  her  original  name — might  have 
given  us  a  picturesque  account  of  the  events  in 
which  she  played  the  leading  part.  But  she  is  now 
very  fully  occupied  with  more  personal  affairs. 
Lieutenant-Commander  Phillips,  R.N.R.,  is  barred 
by  professional  regulations  from  writing  the  story, 
and  in  any  case  he  had  no  direct  knowledge  of  the 
beginning  of  it.  King  Konrad  Karl  II  of  Megalia 
knows  most  of  the  facts,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether 


14  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

the  British  public  would  tolerate  a  book  from  the 
pen  of  a  man  who  is  legally  an  alien  enemy. 

I  have,  at  all  events,  leisure  to  devote  to  the  work, 
and  I  have  heard  the  story  from  the  lips  of  those 
chiefly  concerned.  They  have  allowed  me  to  ques- 
tion them  on  various  points,  and  placed  all,  or 
almost  all,  they  knew  at  my  disposal. 


CHAPTER  II 

KONRAD  KARL  II  began  to  reign  over  Megalia 
in  1908.  He  obtained  the  throne  through  the 
good  offices  of  his  uncle,  who  wanted  to  get  rid  of 
him.  Konrad  Karl,  at  that  time  prince,  was  the 
hero  of  several  first-rate  scandals,  and  had  the  repu- 
tation of  being  the  most  irrepressible  blackguard  of 
royal  blood  in  all  Europe.  He  was  a  perpetual 
source  of  trouble  in  the  Imperial  Court.  Gorman 
says  that  the  Emperor  pushed  him  on  to  the  vacant 
throne  in  the  hopes  that  the  Megalians  would  assas- 
sinate him.  They  generally  did  assassinate  their 
kings,  and  would  no  doubt  have  cut  the  throat  of 
Konrad  Karl  II  if  he  had  not  left  the  country  hur- 
riedly after  reigning  two  years. 

As  king  in  exile  Konrad  Karl  made  a  tour  of  the 
central  European  courts,  staying  as  long  as  he  could 
in  each.  He  was  never  allowed  to  stay  very  long 
because  of  Madame  Corinne  Ypsilante.  This  lady 
had  shared  with  him  the  palace,  but  not  the  throne, 
of  Megalia.  She  accompanied  him  in  his  flight  and 
subsequent  wanderings.  In  these  democratic  days 
Grand  Dukes,  Kings,  and  even  Emperors,  must  have 
some  regard  for  appearances  if  they  wish  to  keep 
their  positions.  It  is  painfully  necessary  to  avoid 
15 


16  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

open  and  flagrant  scandal.  Madame  Corinne  was 
a  lady  who  showed  wherever  she  was.  It  was  im- 
possible to  conceal  her.  Konrad  Karl  did  not  even 
try. 

Some  time  in  1912  or  1913  he  arrived,  still  ac- 
companied by  Madame,  in  London.  His  reputation, 
and  hers,  had  preceded  him.  English  society  did 
not  receive  him  warmly.  He  occupied  a  suite  of 
rooms  at  Beaufort's,  the  expensive  and  luxurious 
hotel  which  is  the  London  home  of  foreign  royalties 
and  American  millionaires.  Kings,  I  suppose,  can 
hold  out  longer  than  ordinary  men  without  paying 
their  bills.  Konrad  Karl  was  in  low  water  finan- 
cially. His  private  fortune  was  small.  Madame 
Corinne  had  no  money  of  her  own,  though  she  had 
jewels.  Perhaps  Mr.  Beaufort — if  the  proprietor 
of  the  hotel  is  indeed  q.  Mr.  Beaufort — makes 
enough  money  out  of  the  millionaires  to  enable  him 
to  entertain  impecunious  kings. 

My  friend  Gorman  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Konrad  Karl  early  in  1913.  Gorman  is  a  man  who 
lives  comfortably,  very  much  more  comfortably 
than  he  could  if  he  had  no  resources  except  the 
beggarly  £400  a  year  which  his  country  pays  him 
as  a  reward  for  his  popularity  with  the  people  of 
Upper  Offaly.  He  makes  money  in  various  ways. 
His  journalistic  work  brings  him  in  a  few  hundreds 
a  year.  Enterprises  of  a  commercial  or  financial 
kind  add  very  considerably  to  his  income.  In  1913 
he  was  interested  in  the  Near  Eastern  Winegrowers' 
Association,  a  limited  liability  company  which  aimed 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  17 

at  making  money  by  persuading  the  British  public 
to  drink  Greek  wine.  He  heard  of  Konrad  Karl, 
and  at  once  invited  that  monarch  to  become  one  of 
the  directors  of  the  company.  Konrad  Karl  was  not 
a  Greek,  and  his  country  did  not  produce  wine 
which  any  one  except  a  Megalian  could  drink.  His 
value  to  Gorman  lay  in  the  fact  that  there  was  not 
another  limited  liability  company  in  all  England 
which  had  a  King  on  its  Board  of  Directors. 

One  of  the  least  objectionable  of  the  wines  which 
Gorman's  company  sold  was  put  on  the  market  as 
Vino  Regalis.  The  advertisements  hinted  without 
actually  stating  that  the  King  had  succeeded  in 
carrying  off  a  thousand  dozen  bottles  of  this  wine 
out  of  the  royal  cellars  when  he  fled  from  his  sub- 
jects in  Megalia.  The  bottles  in  which  Vino  Regalis 
was  sold  had  yards  of  gold  foil  wrapped  round  their 
necks.  They  were  in  their  way  quite  as  splendid 
and  obtrusive  as  Madame  Corinne  was  in  hers.  I 
always  think  that  Gorman  must  have  had  the  lady 
before  his  eyes  when  he  arranged  the  get-up  of 
that  wine. 

The  company  prospered  for  a  while,  until  the 
public  became  aware  of  the  quality  of  the  wine  sold. 
Then  came  a  collapse.  But  Gorman  did  pretty  well 
out  of  it.  The  King  also  did  pretty  well.  He  drew 
fees  as  a  director,  a  special  honorarium  in  recogni- 
tion of  the  value  of  his  title,  and  his  share  of  the 
profits.  The  profits  were  large,  but  he  spent  all  he 
got  as  he  received  it.  Madame  Corinne  is  an  ex- 
pensive lady,  and  the  King  was  just  as  badly  off 


i8  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

after  the  collapse  of  the  company  as  he  had  been 
before  he  became  a  director.  He  consulted  Gorman 
about  his  future.  This  was  a  very  wise  thing  to  do. 
Gorman  probably  knows  more  ways  of  making 
money  than  any  man  in  London. 

The  consultation — the  true  starting  point  of  the 
story  of  the  Island  of  Salissa — took  place  in  one  of 
the  King's  rooms  in  Beaufort's.  Madame  Corinne 
was  not  there.  She  had,  I  think,  gone  to  the  opera. 
Gorman  and  the  King  dined  well,  as  men  do  who 
can  command  the  services  of  the  chef  at  Beaufort's. 
The  wine  they  drank  was  not  Vino  Regalis.  After 
dinner  they  sat  in  front  of  a  fire.  Brandy  and  coffee 
were  on  a  small  table  set  between  their  chairs.  They 
smoked  large  and  excellent  cigars. 

"My  friend,"  said  the  King,  "I  find  myself  in  a 
tight  place.  I  am,  as  the  English  say,  broke  like  a 
stone." 

The  King  prided  himself  on  his  mastery  of  that 
esoteric  English  by  which  the  members  of  various 
sets,  smart,  sporting  and  other,  conceal  the  meaning 
of  what  they  say  from  outsiders,  especially  from 
foreigners  who  have  acquired  their  knowledge  of 
-our  language  by  painful  study  of  dictionaries  and 
grammars. 

"Since  the  wine  company  went  on  the  burst," 
said  the  King,  "I  have  not  a  stiver,  not  a  red  cent, 
not  in  all  my  pockets  the  price  of  one  damned 
drink." 

"If  I  might  venture  to  advise  you,  sir,"  said 
Gorman. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  19 

"Advise?  Certainly  advise.  But  drop  or,  as  you 
say  in  England,  knock  up  calling  me  'sir.'  I  am 
no  longer  a  king.  I  resign.  I  abdicate.  I  chuck 
up  the  sponge  of  royalty.  What  the  hell,  my  dear 
Gorman,  is  the  good  of  being  a  king  when  there 
are  no  shekels  ?" 

"I  shouldn't  do  that  if  I  were  you,"  said  Gorman. 
"After  all,  royalty  is  an  asset.  A  title  like  that — 
kings  aren't  at  all  common,  you  know — is  worth 
money  in  the  market." 

The  King  drank  a  glass  of  brandy  with  an  air  of 
great  dejection. 

"In  what  market  ?    Who  will  buy  ?" 

"Well,"  said  Gorman,  "I  suppose  you  might 
marry.  There  must  be  lots  of  wealthy  girls  who 
would  like  to  be  called  queen." 

The  King  leaned  forward  and  smacked  Gorman 
heartily  on  the  knee. 

"You  have  hit  the  business  end  of  the  nail,"  he 
said.  "I  am  ready.  I  shall  marry.  Produce  the 
lady,  or,  as  you  say  in  England,  cough  her  up." 

Gorman  had  not  expected  this  prompt  and  en- 
thusiastic approval  of  his  suggestion.  He  had  not 
a  list  of  heiresses  in  his  pocket. 

"But,"  he  said,  "there's  Madame  Ypsilante." 

"Corinne  is  reasonable,"  said  the  King.  "I  should 
not,  of  course,  show  my  cold  shoulder  to  Corinne. 
She  would  share  the  loot.  She  and  I  together." 

Gorman  knew  that  the  King  was  a  blackguard 
entirely  without  principle  or  honour;  but  this  pro- 
posal startled  him. 


20  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"I  have  it,"  said  the  King.  "Something  has  hap- 
pened— no,  occurred  to  me.  There  is  in  this  hotel 
at  this  moment  an  American,  an  oof -bird,  a  king  of 
dollars." 

"Donovan  ?" 

Gorman  knew  Donovan  pretty  well ;  as  indeed  he 
knew  all  wealthy  Irish-Americans.  It  was  Gorman's 
business  to  cross  the  Atlantic  from  time  to  time  to 
get  money  for  the  support  of  the  Irish  Party.  Dono- 
van had  been  for  many  years  a  generous  subscriber 
to  these  funds. 

"There  is  a  daughter,"  said  the  King.  "I  have 
not  put  eyes  on  her.  She  may  be — but  it  does  not 
matter  what  she  is,  not  a  curse,  not  a  damn  from 
the  Continent.  I  shall  still  have  Corinne.  The 
American  oof-girl  may  have  the  eyes  of  a  pig.  I 
do  not  care." 

It  is  not  easy  to  shock  Gorman.  Indeed,  I  should 
have  said  beforehand  that  it  was  impossible  to  shock 
him.  But  I  have  his  assurance  that  Konrad  Karl 
did  it.  It  is  true  that  Gorman  himself  had  suggested 
marriage  to  the  King  as  a  way  out  of  his  difficulties. 
But  marriage  with  an  unnamed  and  unknown  heiress 
is  one  thing.  The  King's  plan,  frankly  worked  out, 
for  insulting  and  robbing  a  girl  whom  Gorman 
knew  personally  was  quite  a  different  matter.  Miss 
Daisy  Donovan  is  a  bright-faced,  clear-eyed,  ro- 
mantic-souled  girl.  She  had  finished  her  course  of 
study  in  one  of  the  universities  of  the  Middle-west 
without  becoming  a  cultivated  prig.  In  spite  of 
the  fact  that  history,  economics,  emasculated  phi- 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  21 

losophy  and  a  kind  of  intellectual  complexion  cream 
called  literature  had  been  smeared  all  over  her  by 
earnest  professors,  she  had  never  learned  to  take 
herself,  life  or  society  at  all  seriously.  She  had 
all  the  vitality  which  gives  American  women  their 
singular  charm  and  none  of  the  appalling  earnest- 
ness of  high  endeavour  which  sometimes  leads  even 
very  charming  women  into  repulsive  kinds  of  fool- 
ishness. The  thought  of  a  marriage  between  Miss 
Daisy  and  King  Konrad  Karl — with  Madame  Ypsi- 
lante  in  the  near  background — affected  Gorman 
with  a  feeling  of  physical  nausea. 

The  King  possessed  a  certain  capacity  for  sym- 
pathy. He  guessed  something  of  what  was  in 
Gorman's  mind. 

"After  all,"  he  said,  "she  would  be  a  queen.  It 
is  something.  You  have  said  so  yourself,  my  friend. 
You  cannot  have  an  omelette  without  the  sacrifice 
of  an  egg.  But  I  see — I  see  very  plainly  that  you 
do  not  wish  me  to  marry  the  Donovan  oof-girl.  You 
will  not  back  me  up.  Good.  I  back  down.  I  bear 
no  malice.  I  wish  you  success.  I  shall  eat  cake  at 
your  wedding  without  envy.  To  you  the  Amer- 
ican with  pigs'  eyes — yes,  I  am  sure  she  has  pigs' 
eyes.  To  me  Corinne.  To  which  of  us  happiness? 
eh,  my  friend?" 

Gorman  felt  that  it  would  be  perfectly  impossible 
to  convince  the  King  that  he  had  no  wish  to  marry 
Miss  Daisy  or  her  fortune. 

"All  right,"  he  said.  "Leave  it  at  that  if  you 
like." 


22  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"I  have  left  it,"  said  the  King,  "at  that,  precisely 
at  that,  though  I  do  not  like  it  at  all." 

"And  now,"  said  Gorman,  "let's  get  back  to  your 
own  affairs.  You  say  that  you're  in  a  tightish 
place  just  for  the  moment." 

"I  am  in  a  hell  hole,"  said  the  King. 

"Why  not  go  back  to  the  Emperor?  He  must 
do  something  for  you.  After  all,  he's  your  uncle. 
He  can't  let  you  go  under  altogether.  Of  course 
you'll  have  to  eat  humble  pie,  do  the  repentant 
prodigal  and  all  that  sort  of  thing." 

"I  should  with  gladness  eat  any  pie — even  pie 
made  of  the  fatted  calf  of  the  prodigal ;  but — there 
is  Corinne.  The  Emperor  regards  Corinne  very 
much,  my  dear  Gorman,  as  you  regard  me.  I  do 
not  complain.  You  and  the  Emperor  are  no  doubt 
right.  You  hit  your  nails  on  the  head,  both  of  you, 
when  you  say  of  Corinne  and  me — they  are  black- 
guards. But  I  prefer  Corinne  and  no  veal  pie  to 
veal  pie  and  no  Corinne.  Yes,  my  friend,  I  choose 
Corinne  every  time." 

I  have  met  King  Konrad  Karl  once  or  twice,  and 
I  have,  of  course,  heard  a  good  deal  about  him. 
He  is,  unquestionably,  a  scoundrel.  But  I  agree 
with  Gorman  that  he  is  a  frank  and  therefore  an 
attractive  scoundrel.  Besides,  his  fidelity  to  Corinne 
is  a  redeeming  feature,  perhaps  the  only  redeeming 
feature  of  his  character. 

Gorman  is,  if  not  a  blackguard,  at  all  events  an 
adventurer,  and  therefore  kin  to  the  King.  He  saw 
the  impossibility  of  leading  Corinne  to  the  foot  of 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  23 

the  imperial  throne;  and  he  felt  that,  after  all,  the 
King  was  right  from  his  own  point  of  view.  Cor- 
inne  was  more  desirable  than  many  fatted  calves. 
He  cast  about  for  some  other  way  out  of  the  difficult 
position. 

"We  might,"  he  said,  "make  something  out  of 
Megalia." 

"Nothing,"  said  the  King.  "I  have  been  in 
Megalia  and  I  know  it.  It  is  a  one-dog  country. 
There  is  nothing  in  it.  I  have  tried  it,  and  I  know." 

"We  might  start  a  Megalian  Development  Com- 
pany," said  Gorman. 

"A  company,  perhaps,"  said  the  King,  "but  de- 
velopment of  Megalia,  never." 

"I  was  not  thinking  of  actually  developing  it. 
That  would  be  the  company's  business  afterwards. 
Not  that  it  will  be  easy  to  start  the  company.  It 
won't.  Nobody  knows  anything  about  the  damned 
place." 

"That  is  our  best  chance,"  said  the  King.  "If 
any  one  did  know  Megalia,  the  company  would 
be — what  is  it  you  say — a  scrub  down — no — a  wash- 
up — ah,  I  have  it — a  wash-out." 

"You'd  grant  concessions,  I  suppose,"  said  Gor- 
man. 

"I  do  not  know  exactly  what  a  concession  means," 
said  the  King,  "but  if  any  one  will  pay  for  it  I  will 
give  them  permission  to  make  the  people  of  Megalia 
into  sausages  and  kidneys.  Believe  me,  my  friend, 
that  is  the  only  development  of  which  the  Megalians 
are  capable.  They  are  pigs — Gadarene  pigs." 


24  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"We  won't  suggest  that  in  the  prospectus,"  said 
Gorman.  "Our  company,  if  we  ever  get  it  started, 
must  be  humanitarian,  altruistic;  I'm  not  sure  that 
it  ought  not  to  be  a  little  religious — mission  of 
civilization.  That's  the  note  to  strike." 

"And  you  expect  to  make  money  out  of — out  of 
that?  out  of  what  you  teach  in  your  schools  for 
Sunday  ?" 

"It's  just  exactly  out  of  that  that  money  is 
made." 

"The  English,"  said  the  King,  "are  a  great  people, 
very  wonderful.  You — even  you,  my  friend,  who 
are  not  English,  but  Irish — you  will  not  let  me 
marry  because  of  Corinne.  You  wish  me  to  eat 
humble  pie  while  poor  Corinne  goes  hungry,  and  yet 
you  will  make  money  out  of  a  company  for  reform- 
ing the  people  of  Megalia,  making  them  civilized, 
Christian — a  thing  that  is  not  at  all  possible — ever, 
in  any  way.  Tell  me,  my  friend,  could  you  not 
start  a  company  to  develop,  reform,  improve  Cor- 
inne and  me.  Believe  me,  it  would  be  easier  to  do." 


CHAPTER  III 

GORMAN  realized  that  the  development  of 
Megalia  was  not  an  enterprise  likely  to  attract 
the  British  capitalist.  Still  all  things  are  possible 
in  business,  the  business  of  company  promoting. 
He  set  to  work  to  collect  what  information  he 
could  about  the  country.  The  library  of  the  House 
of  Commons  was  useless  to  him.  Megalia  is  the 
only  country  in  the  world  about  which  no  Blue 
Book  ever  has  been  published.  A  belief  existed 
among  certain  city  men  interested  in  mining  specu- 
lation, that  there  was  copper  in  the  mountains  of 
Megalia ;  but  no  one  had  any  exact  information  on 
the  subject.  Longwood,  the  Balkan  correspondent 
of  the  New  York  Press,  was  in  London  at  this 
time,  and  Gorman  got  hold  of  him.  He  had  little 
to  say  about  Megalia  except  that  all  the  inhabitants 
are  brigands.  Steinwitz,  managing  director  of  the 
Cyrenian  Sea  Steam  Navigation  Company,  pro- 
fessed to  be  interested  in  Megalia.  He  was  cer- 
tainly interested  in  the  fact  that  Gorman  was  mak- 
ing inquiries  about  the  country.  He  said  that  there 
were  no  harbours  or  possible  ports  of  call  on  the 
Megalian  coast. 

"Nothing,"  he  said,  "can  be  done  with  that  coun- 


26  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

try.  Nothing  at  all.  There  is  no  trade,  no  traffic 
of  any  kind.  And  there  cannot  be.  If  there  were 
anything  to  be  done  in  Megalia,  we  should  have  had 
a  steamer  going  there.  Our  ships  pass  the  coast. 
But  they  do  not  call.  Never." 

This  interview,  curiously  enough,  was  the  one 
thing  which  gave  Gorman  any  hope.  Steinwitz  was 
plainly  anxious  to  discourage  inquiries  about  Me- 
galia. And  Steinwitz  had  the  reputation  of  being 
a  very  astute  man. 

Gorman  tabulated  the  information  he  had  ac- 
quired. He  produced,  after  some  thought,  a  few 
notes  on  Megalia  which  might  be  embodied  in  a 
plausible  prospectus. 

1.  A    Megalian    Development    Company    would 
have  a  clear  field  and  no  competition  to  face.    Gor- 
man felt  that  this  was  a  fair  deduction  from  the 
fact  that  nobody  knew  anything  definite  about  the 
country. 

2.  The  mineral  wealth  of  Megalia  is  untapped. 
Nobody  had  ever  taken  any  copper  from  the  moun- 
tains and  nobody  denied  that  it  was  there.     It  was 
therefore  fair  to  say  that  the  mineral  wealth  of  the 
country  was  untapped. 

3.  The  inhabitants  are  energetic  and  enterprising, 
a  vigorous  and  courageous  race.     Sluggards  and 
decadents,  so  Gorman  felt,  do  not  become  brigands. 

That  was  all  the  material  Gorman  had  to  work 
with.  Except  the  one  fact,  which  could  not  be 
published,  that  Steinwitz,  the  director  of  a  German 
Shipping  Company  with  its  headquarters  in  London, 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  27 

did  not  want  public  attention  turned  to  Megalia.  The 
floating  of  a  company,  even  if  the  King  offered 
every  concession,  did  not  seem  to  be  a  hopeful  en- 
terprise. 

Gorman  did  not,  in  the  end,  attempt  to  form  that 
company.  A  second  dinner  at  Beaufort's  showed 
him  another  way  of  saving  the  unfortunate  King 
Konrad  Karl  from  ruin.  This  time  the  invitation 
came  from  Mr.  Donovan. 

The  Donovans  occupied  one  of  the  best  suites  of 
rooms  in  that  sumptuous  hotel.  The  old  gentleman 
had  the  satisfaction  of  stretching  himself  in  beau- 
tifully upholstered  chairs  and  dropping  cigar  ashes 
on  highly  gilt  tables.  He  was  suffering,  so  he  be- 
lieved, from  disordered  action  of  the  heart,  induced 
by  the  toil  and  excitement  of  making  a  large  fortune. 
Several  doctors  agreed  in  recommending  complete 
rest  and  quiet.  Mr.  Donovan  was  convinced  that 
rest  and  quiet  would  be  pleasant  as  well  as  beneficial. 
He  left  Chicago,  where  such  things  are  certainly  not 
to  be  found,  and  sought  them  in  London.  For  a 
time  he  believed  he  had  found  them.  He  sat  all 
day  in  his  room  at  Beaufort's,  waited  on  by  footmen 
who  wore  gold-braided  coats,  crimson  breeches  and 
silk  stockings,  looking  like  very  dignified  ambassa- 
dors. He  signed  cheques  payable  to  Miss  Daisy. 
He  exerted  himself  in  no  other  way.  But  rest  and 
quiet  are  hard  to  come  by.  Letters  pursued  him 
from  Chicago.  Thoughtless  people  even  cabled  to 
him.  Secretaries  of  benevolent  societies  discovered 
him.  The  London  agents  of  American  financiers 


28  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

rang  him  tip  on  telephones.  Finally  Miss  Daisy, 
having  drunk  deep  of  the  delights  of  London,  be- 
came restless. 

At  first  she  had  enjoyed  life  thoroughly.  She  had 
a  marble-fitted  bathroom  for  her  sole  use.  She 
slept  in  a  beautiful  bed  under  a  painted  ceiling.  She 
tried  on  dresses  for  hours  every  day  in  front  of  huge 
gilt  mirrors.  She  gathered  in  immense  quantities 
the  peculiar  treasures  of  Bond  Street.  Then  she 
began  to  yearn  for  something  more.  Her  father 
considered  her  demands,  thought  of  his  own  dis- 
ordered heart  and  asked  Gorman  to  dinner. 

The  conversation  at  first  ran  along  natural  lines. 
The  sights  of  London  were  discussed.  The  plays 
which  Miss  Daisy  had  seen  and  the  picture  galleries 
she  had  visited  were  criticized.  Then  Gorman  was 
called  on  to  give  opinions  about  the  books  she  had 
not  found  time  to  read.  London  and  its  attractions 
were  compared  with  Chicago  and  Detroit;  Miss 
Daisy  preferred  London.  Her  father  said  there 
were  points  about  Detroit,  but  that  quiet  was  no 
more  obtainable  in  one  than  the  other.  Afterwards 
politics  were  touched  on.  Miss  Daisy  gave  it  as 
her  opinion  that  the  Irish  Party  was  rather  slow 
about  getting  Home  Rule.  She  displayed  a  con- 
siderable knowledge  of  affairs,  and  told  Gorman 
frankly  that  he  ought  to  have  been  able  to  buy  up  a 
substantial  majority  of  the  British  House  of  Com- 
mons with  the  money,  many  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars, which  her  father  and  other  Americans  had 
subscribed. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  29 

Gorman  has  always  been  of  opinion  that  women 
are  incapable  of  understanding  politics.  Miss  Daisy's 
direct  and  simple  way  of  attacking  great  problems 
confirmed  him  in  his  belief  that  Woman  Suffrage 
would  be  a  profound  mistake. 

He  was  relieved  when,  after  dinner,  Donovan 
himself  started  a  new  subject. 

"I  hear,"  he  said,  "that  there  is  a  king,  a  Euro- 
pean monarch,  resident  in  this  hotel.  That  so  ?" 

"King  Konrad  Karl  II  of  Megalia,"  said  Gorman. 

"Friend  of  yours?" 

"Well,  yes,"  said  Gorman.  "I've  had  some  busi- 
ness connection  with  him." 

"I'm  interested  in  that  monarch,"  said  Donovan. 
"It  was  Daisy  drew  my  attention  to  him  first,  and 
then  I  made  inquiries.  He's  not  considered  a  first- 
class  king,  I  reckon.  Doesn't  move  in  the  best 
royal  circles.  He  could  be  approached,  without  dip- 
lomatic formalities,  by  a  plain  American  citizen." 

"There's  not  the  least  difficulty  about  approaching 
him,"  said  Gorman.  "I  don't  believe  you'd  care 
for  him  much  if  you  knew  him,  and " 

Gorman  cast  about  for  the  best  way  of  saying  that 
King  Konrad  Karl  would  not  be  a  desirable  friend 
for  Miss  Daisy.  Donovan  saved  him  the  trouble 
of  finding  a  suitable  phrase. 

"He  could  be  approached,"  he  said,  "by  a  plain 
American  citizen,  if  that  citizen  came  with  a  busi- 
ness proposition  in  his  hand." 

Gorman  saw  what  he  believed  to  be  an  oppor- 
tunity. Donovan  apparently  wanted  to  do  business 


30  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

with  the  King.  Such  business  must  necessarily  be 
connected  with  Megalia.  A  company  for  the  de- 
velopment of  that  country  could  be  founded  without 
difficulty  if  a  man  of  Donovan's  enormous  wealth 
took  up  a  substantial  block  of  shares.  Gorman 
poured  out  all  the  information  he  had  collected 
about  Megalia.  Donovan  listened  to  him  in  silence. 
It  was  Miss  Daisy  who  spoke  at  last. 

"What  you  say  about  the  enterprising  nature  of 
those  inhabitants  interests  me,"  she  said,  "but  I 
am  not  much  taken  with  the  notion  of  copper  min- 
ing. It  seems  to  me  that  copper  mines  would  be 
liable  to  spoil  the  natural  beauty  of  the  landscape." 

Gorman  was,  for  the  moment,  too  much  surprised 
to  speak.  He  had  been  in  America  several  times 
and  knew  a  good  many  American  women.  He 
realized  their  independence  of  character  and  mental 
vigour.  But  he  did  not  expect  that  a  young  girl, 
fresh  from  college,  enjoying  the  first  taste  of  Lon- 
don, would  take  a  leading  part  in  discussing  a 
matter  of  business.  Before  he  had  made  up  his 
mind  what  line  to  take  with  Miss  Daisy,  Donovan 
shot  a  question  at  him. 

"What  size  is  that  monarchy?"  he  said. 

"The  actual  boundaries  are  a  little  uncertain," 
said  Gorman,  "but  I  think  we  may  say  a  hundred 
miles  by  about  thirty." 

"Inhabitants?    Is  it  considerably  settled?" 

"I  should  guess  the  population  at  about  10,000." 

Gorman  glanced  at  his  daughter.  Miss  Daisy's 
eyes  gleamed  with  pleasurable  excitement. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  31 

"I'll  buy  that  monarchy,"  said  Donovan,  "money 
down,  and  I  expect  the  King  and  I  won't  fall  out 
about  the  price.  But  if  I  buy,  I  buy  the  section  and 
all  fixings,  royal  palace,  throne,  crown  and  title. 
I'm  particular  about  the  title." 

Miss  Daisy  jumped  from  her  chair  and  ran  round 
the  table.  She  flung  her  arms  round  her  father's 
neck  and  kissed  him  heartily,  first  on  one  cheek,  then 
on  the  other. 

"You  darling !"  she  said. 

Donovan  disengaged  his  head  from  her  embrace 
and  turned  to  Gorman. 

"My  little  girl  has  taken  a  notion,"  he  said,  "that 
she'd  like  to  be  a  queen.  The  thing  might  be 
worked  by  marrying ;  but  we  don't  either  of  us  care 
for  that  notion.  She'd  be  tied  up  if  she  married, 
and  she  might  tire.  My  idea — and  hers — is  that 
it's  better  to  buy  what  we  want  right  out.  I  don't 
say  that  Megalia  is  precisely  the  kingdom  I'd  have 
chosen  for  her.  I'd  have  preferred  a  place  with  a 
bigger  reputation,  one  better  advertised  by  his- 
torians. But  I  realize  that  the  European  monarchy 
market  has  been  cornered  by  a  syndicate,  and  I 
can't  just  step  down  and  buy  what  I  like.  Your 
leading  families,  so  I  understand,  have  secured 
options  on  the  best  kingdoms  and  won't  part." 

Miss  Daisy  was  still  standing  with  her  arms  round 
her  father's  neck.  She  hugged  him  as  she  spoke. 

"I  shall  just  love  Megalia,"  she  said.  "I'd  far 
rather  have  it  than  one  three  times  the  size." 


32  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"Well,"  said  her  father,  "I  guess  there's  no  rea- 
son why  you  shouldn't  have  it." 

Gorman  saw  several  reasons,  excellent  ones,  why 
Daisy  Donovan  could  never  be  queen  of  Megalia. 
He  began  to  explain  them.  Kingdoms  cannot  be 
bought  and  sold  like  horses.  There  are  emperors 
and  other  kings  to  consider.  There  is  the  Balance 
of  Power  in  Europe.  There  are  ambassadors, 
chancelleries,  statesmen.  He  was  not  at  all  sure 
that  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  in  an  inverted  form, 
might  not  be  an  absolute  bar  to  the  purchase  of  a 
European  kingdom  by  an  American.  Donovan 
brushed  the  difficulties  aside. 

"Those  points,"  he  said,  "will  be  considered  in 
settling  the  price.  I'm  aware  that  Europe  has  its 
prejudices.  I'm  not  out  to  trample  on  them.  Gen- 
uine vested  interests  owned  by  other  monarchs  will 
be  paid  for.  Ambassadors  and  chancellors  will  be 
taken  on  and  employed  at  their  old  salaries  as  part 
of  a  going  concern." 

Gorman  is,  like  the  Megalians,  enterprising  and 
full  of  courage.  He  did  not  believe  that  the  sale 
of  the  Crown  of  Megalia  could  possibly  be  carried 
through;  but  something  might  be  done  which 
would  satisfy  Donovan.  An  estate,  carrying  with 
it  a  title  like  that  of  Grand  Duchess,  might  be  made 
over  to  Miss  Daisy.  All  kings  possess  the  power  of 
conferring  titles.  If  such  honours  are  freely  sold 
in  a  country  like  England,  there  could  be  no  possible 
objection  to  the  King  of  Megalia  taking  a  reasonable 
price  for  creating  a  Grand  Duchess,  even,  perhaps,  a 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  33 

princess.    Donovan's  next  words  made  Gorman  de- 
termine to  try  what  he  could  do. 

"There'll  be  a  rake-off  from  the  purchase  price," 
said  Donovan,  "for  the  man  who  arranges  the  sale. 
I  don't  kick  against  a  reasonable  percentage." 


CHAPTER  IV 

IT  was  Gorman's  misfortune  that  all  through  the 
Megalia  negotiations  he  had  to  deal  with  women 
as  well  as  men,  indeed  sometimes  with  women  rather 
than  men. 

Donovan  held  it  as  an  article  of  faith  that  any- 
thing in  the  world  can  be  bought  for  money,  if 
only  there  is  money  enough.  But  Donovan  would 
not  have  insisted  on  justifying  his  faith  by  putting 
it  to  the  test.  No  one  does  that.  Not  even  a 
church,  though  firmly  convinced  of  its  own  infalli- 
bility, will  bludgeon  the  world  into  an  acceptance 
of  its  claim  by  making  decisions  about  matters  which 
are  susceptible  of  proof.  Donovan  would  have  been 
quite  content  to  believe  that  he  could  purchase  the 
Crown  of  Megalia  without  actually  doing  so.  It 
was  Miss  Daisy,  who  had  no  theories  about  the 
power  of  money,  who  insisted  on  becoming  a  queen. 

King  Konrad  Karl  knew  perfectly  well  that  he 
could  not  sell  what  Donovan  wanted  to  buy. 

"I  would,"  he  said,  "sell  Megalia  with  dam- 
nable pleasure.  Your  friend's  daughter  might  be 
Queen  or  Empress  or  Sultana.  You,  my  dear  Gor- 
man, might  be  king  consort  when  you  married  her, 
But  you  know  and  I  know  and  Corinne  knows — 
34 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  35 

alas!  we  all  know — that  if  I  attempted  a  coup 
d'etat  of  that  kind  the  Emperor  would  at  once  put 
in  my  wheel  a  spoke.  It  is  a  cursed  pity;  but  what 
can  we  do?  We  must,  as  you  once  said  to  me, 
Gorman,  be  content  to  leave  it  at  that." 

Madame  Ypsilante  was  present  when  Gorman  first 
suggested  the  sale  of  Megalia.  She  cut  into  the 
conversation  with  a  very  pertinent  remark. 
"The  price,"  she  said,  "would  be  enormous." 
Madame  is  a  lady  of  expensive  tastes  and  appre- 
ciates the  advantage  of  possessing  money.  There 
was  at  that  time  in  Goldsturmer's  Bond  Street  estab- 
lishment a  rope  of  pearls  which  she  very  much 
wished  to  possess.  Miss  Daisy  Donovan  had  seen 
it  and  admired  it  greatly.  This  fact  rendered 
Madame's  desire  almost  overwhelming. 

"The  price  of  a  kingdom,"  she  said.    "Consider." 

Her  fine  eyes  opened  very  wide  as  she  considered 

the  price  which  Donovan  might  be  induced  to  pay 

for  Megalia.    The  King  sighed  deeply. 

"Alas!"  he  said.     "The  Emperor." 

"Damn  the  Emperor,"  said  Madame. 

She  had  every  reason  to  wish  evil  to  the  Emperor. 

His  malignant   respect  for  conventional  morality 

had  driven  her  from  the  precincts  of  his  court,  had 

been  the  prime  cause  of  the  misfortunes  which  had 

nearly  overwhelmed  her  and  Konrad,  and  now  the 

Emperor  stood  between  her  and  the  possession  of 

the  most  magnificent  pearls  in  Europe.     It  was  no 

wonder  that  she  cursed  him.    Konrad  Karl  did  not 

rebuke  her  disloyalty.     H«  merely  shrugged  his 


136  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

shoulders,  feeling  that  it  was  no  use  damning  the 
Emperor.  That  potentate  would  not  moult  a  feather 
though  Madame  Ypsilante  cursed  him  all  day  long. 
Madame  herself  felt  the  uselessness  of  losing  her 
temper  with  some  one  she  could  not  hurt.  She 
asked  the  King  to  give  her  a  glass  of  brandy.  That 
stimulated  her  imagination. 

"This  American,"  she  said,  "is  no  doubt  a  fool, 
and  his  daughter  imbecile.  Do  not  contradict  me. 
All  young  girls  are  imbecile.  As  for  the  father,  if 
he  were  not  a  fool  would  he  wish  to  buy  Megalia? 
Megalia,  my  God!  The  world  is  full  of  things 
desirable  to  buy;  and  he  asks  for  that." 

The  King  nodded.  He  knew  Megalia.  The  man 
who  wanted  to  buy  it  was  certainly  a  fool.  Gorman 
was  forced  to  admit  that  Donovan  showed  less 
wisdom  than  might  be  expected  in  wishing  to  spend 
money  on  a  kingdom  of  that  kind. 

"Then,"  said  Madame,  "the  affair  is  simple.  He 
buys.  You  sell.  He  pays.  You  take.  We  skip. 
I  lore  London — yes,  very  well.  But  after  all  there 
are  other  cities.  We  skip.  The  Emperor  acts.  The 
American  curses.  What  is  that  to  us  ?" 

The  King  shook  his  head.  The  plan  was  simple. 
Unfortunately  the  world  is  not  big  enough  for  the 
working  out  of  really  great  conceptions. 

"We  should  be  pursued.  They  would  take  us  by 
1he  collar.  We  should  be  compelled  to  disgorge  the 
swag" 

"We  should  not  be  so  compelled,"  said  Madame. 
*'I  should  at  once  buy  pearls  and  diamonds,  and  I 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  37 

should  conceal  them.  You,  Konrad,  would  hare 
nothing  to  disgorge." 

It  is  certain  that  the  King  had  a  real  affection  for 
Madame  Corinne.  Gorman  called  it  an  infatuation. 
No  doubt  he  even  trusted  her.  It  is  just  conceivable 
that  he  would  have  allowed  her  to  wander  off  by 
herself  with  several  hundred  thousand  pounds  worth 
of  jewels  while  he  argued  with  the  Emperor  and 
Donovan  and  the  U.  S.  Ambassador.  But  Gorman 
pointed  out  a  fatal  defect  in  the  scheme. 

"I  don't  deny,"  he  said,  "that  there's  a  soft  spot 
somewhere  in  Donovan.  But  he's  not  that  particu- 
lar kind  of  fool.  You  may  take  it  from  me,  Ma- 
dame, that  the  price  won't  be  paid  till  you  hare  de- 
livered the  goods.  You  won't  get  more  than  i.  few 
thousands  in  advance  until  Miss  Daisy  is  actually 
sitting  on  a  throne  with  a  gold  crown  on  her  head." 

"There  is  no  crown  in  Megalia,"  said  the  King. 
"There  never  was.  If  there  had  been  it  would  not 
be  there  now.  I  should  have  brought  it  with  me 
when  I  made  my  scoot." 

"Donovan  won't  bother  about  that  point,"  said 
Gorman.  "In  fact,  I  expect  he'd  buy  a  new  crown 
in  any  case.  He  wouldn't  like  the  idea  of  his 
daughter  appearing  in  anything  second-hand.  What 
he  wants  for  her  is  the  right  to  wear  a  crown." 

"That,"  said  the  King,  "is  exactly  the  pinching 
shoe.  That  she  cannot  have.  We  are  at  a  dying — 
no,  a  dead  lock." 

"Somehow,"  said  Madame,  "we  must  hare  the 
money.  If  that  girl,  that  miss,  who  is  more  imbecile 


^8  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

than  all  other  jeunes  filles — if  she  obtains  that  rope 
of  pearls  from  Goldsturmer,  those  pearls  which 
ought  to  be  mine,  I  shall  go  mad  and  take  poison, 
very  terrible  poison,  and  die  in  front  of  your  eyes, 
Konrad."  V 

With  a  view  to  showing  how  mad  she  could  go  if 
she  tried,  she  threw  her  brandy  glass  on  the  floor 
and  hacked  at  it  with  the  heel  of  her  shoe.  The 
carpets  in  Beaufort's  hotel  have  the  softest  and 
deepest  pile  of  any  carpets  in  Europe.  Madame's 
first  two  or  three  hacks  did  no  more  than  snap  the 
stem  of  the  glass.  To  complete  its  destruction  she 
stood  up  and  stamped  on  it. 

Gorman  may  have  feared  that  she  would  trample 
on  him  next.  He  told  me  that  she  really  was  a 
very  alarming  sight.  Stimulated  by  terror,  his 
mind  worked  quickly. 

"Look  here,"  he  said  to  the  King,  "I've  got  a 
suggestion  to  make.  Get  Madame  to  sit  down  and 
keep  quiet  for  a  few  minutes." 

The  King  had  an  experience,  gathered  during  six 
years  of  intimacy,  of  Madame's  ways.  He  knew 
what  to  do  with  her.  He  got  another  glass  of 
brandy  and  a  box  of  cigarettes.  He  set  them  on  a 
table  beside  a  deep  armchair.  Madame  suffered 
herself  to  be  led  to  the  chair. 

"Now,  my  friend  Gorman,"  said  the  King,  "if 
you  have  a  key  which  will  open  the  dead  lock,  make 
it  trot  out." 

"What  Donovan  wants,"  said  Gorman,  "is  a 
kingdom  for  his  daughter.  Not  Megalia  in  particu- 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  39 

lar,  but  some  kind  of  right  to  wear  a  crown.  Any 
other  kingdom  would  do  as  well." 

"But  there  is  no  other,"  said  the  King.  "In  all 
the  courts  of  Europe  there  is  no  other  king  in  such  a 
damned  hole  as  I  am,  no  other  king  who  would  sell 
even  if  he  could." 

"I  don't  know  Megalia  well,"  said  Gorman,  "but 
there  must  surely  be  some  outlying  corner  of  that 
interesting  country — an  island,  for  instance — which 
you  could  make  over,  sporting,  mineral  and  royal 
rights,  to  Donovan;  just  as  England  gave  Heligo- 
land to  the  Germans  and  somebody  or  other,  prob- 
ably the  Turks,  gave  Cyprus  to  the  English.  The 
thing  is  constantly  done." 

"But  the  Emperor,"  said  the  King.  "Again  and 
always  the  Emperor.  All  roads  lead  to  Rome.  All 
realpolitik  brings  us  in  the  end  back  to  the  Em- 
peror." 

"My  idea,"  said  Gorman,  "would  be,  to  choose  a 
small  island,  quite  a  small  one,  so  small  that  the 
Emperor  wouldn't  notice  it  was  gone.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  I  expect  a  small  island  would  suit  Donovan 
better  than  the  whole  country.  He  has  a  weak 
heart  and  has  come  over  to  Europe  for  rest  and 
quiet.  He  won't  want  to  be  bothered  with  the  poli- 
tics and  revolutions  and  complications  which  will  be 
sure  to  arise  in  a  large  tract  of  land  like  Megalia." 

"A  revolution,"  said  the  King,  "arises  there  regu- 
larly. A  revolution  is  biennial  in  Megalia." 

"In  a  really  small  island,"  said  Gorman,  "that 
would  not  happen.  A  man  like  Donovan  would 


40  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

feed  the  inhabitants  until  they  got  too  fat  /or 
revolutions.  Now  the  question  is,  do  you  own  an 
island  of  that  kind?" 

"There  is,"  said  the  King,  "Salissa.  There  is 
certainly  Salissa.  My  predecessor  on  the  throne, 

my  cousin  Otto,  resided  in  Salissa  until .  He 

thought  it  a  safe  place  to  reside  because  it  was  so  far 
from  the  land.  He  even  built  a  house  there.  It  is, 
I  am  told,  a  charming  house.  Hot  and  cold.  Bil- 
liard and  No  Basement.  Self-contained,  Tudor  and 
Bungalow,  ten  bed,  two  dressing,  offices  of  the  usual, 
drainage,  commanding  views,  all  that  is  desirable. 
But,  alas  for  poor  Otto !  Salissa  was  not  safe.  He 
had  forgotten  that  Megalia  has  a  navy,  a  navy  of 
one  ship  only,  but  that  was  enough.  It  cooked 
the  goose  of  Otto,  that  Megalian  Navy.  The  Prime 
Minister  and  the  Commander  of  the  Forces  and 
the  Admiral  arrived  at  Salissa  one  day  in  the  Navy. 
That  was  the  end  of  Otto." 

"I  hope,"  said  Gorman,  "that  the  inhabitants  of 
Salissa  aren't  a  bloodthirsty  lot.  I  wouldn't  like 
to  think  of  Miss  Daisy  being  murdered.  Besides, 
there'd  be  complications.  The  assassination  of  an 
odd  prince  doesn't  much  matter  to  any  one.  But 
an  American  millionaire!  The  sudden  death  of  a 
man  like  Donovan  would  mean  a  panic  in  Wall 
Street,  and  there'd  have  to  be  a  fuss." 

"The  inhabitants !"  said  the  King.  "They  would 
not  kill  a  baby.  They  are  lambs,  ducks,  kids,  doves. 
They  bleat.  They  coo." 

"The  Prime  Minister,"  said  Gorman,  "the  Com- 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  41 

rnander  of  the  Forces  and  the  Admiral  could  be 
squared,  I  suppose?" 

"They  would  not  want  to  kill  her,"  said  the  King. 
"She  would  not  be  their  queen." 

"Sounds  all  right,"  said  Gorman,  "if  you  can  be 
sure  of  selling  the  whole  thing  without  reservation 
of  any  kind  to  him.  The  royal  rights  are  essential. 
Remember  that.  There  must  be  no  'subject-to- 
the-Crown-of-Megalia'  clause  in  the  deed." 

"The  Emperor  need  not  know,"  said  the  King. 
"Salissa  is  very  small,  and  far,  very  far,  from  the 
land.  If  we  keep  the  transaction  shady — that  is  to 
say,  dark — the  Emperor  will  not  tumble  into  it." 

Madame  swallowed  her  last  sip  of  brandy. 

"The  price?"  she  said. 

"You  cannot,"  said  Gorman,  "expect  as  much 
for  a  small  island  like  that  as  if  you  were  able  to 
sell  the  whole  kingdom;  the  revenue  can't  be  any- 
thing much." 

"There  is  no  revenue  in  Megalia  either,"  said  the 
King. 

"But  Donovan  is  getting  what  he  wants.  His 
daughter  will  be  a  reigning  queen.  I  daresay  we'll 
be  able  to  screw  him  up  to " 

"The  price  of  that  rope  of  pearls,"  said  Madame, 
"is  ten  thousand  pounds." 

"Oh,"  said  Gorman,  "we'll  get  that  and  a  bit 
over." 

"At  once,"  said  Madame,  "cash  down.  For  if 
we  have  to  wait  and  wait  for  months  that  imbecile 
girl  will  buy  the  pearls.  Do  not  say  no.  I  know 


42  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

it.  I  have  a  feeling.  There  is  a  presentiment. 
And  if  she  gets  those  pearls  I  shall " 

Gorman  did  not  want  her  to  go  mad  again. 

"Couldn't  you  see  Goldsturmer,"  he  said,  "and 
arrange  with  him  to  give  you  the  refusal  of  the 
pearls,  say,  three  months  from  now  ?" 

"Goldsturmer,"  said  Madame,  "is  a  devil.  He 
will  not  trust  me  for  one  day,  although  he  knows 
Konrad  well." 

Goldsturmer  would  probably  have  said  that  he 
refused  to  trust  Madame  because  he  knew  Konrad 
well. 

Gorman  promised  to  lay  the  Salissa  proposal  be- 
fore Donovan,  and  to  get  him,  if  possible,  to  pay 
at  least  ten  thousand  of  the  purchase  money  in 
advance. 

"But  above  all,"  said  the  King,  "let  him  hold 
tight  to  his  tongue,  and  you,  my  friend  Gorman. 
This  is  no  affair  about  which  a  song  can  be  made  in 
the  market  place.  If  the  Emperor  were  to  hear  a 
whisper — Gorman,  you  do  not  know  the  Emperor. 
His  ears  are  long.  If  he  were  to  hear  there  would 
be  an  end.  There  would  be  no  sale." 

"Donovan,"  said  Gorman,  "would  probably  offer 
the  Emperor  five  per  cent,  of  the  purchase  money 
if  there  was  any  trouble." 

"Five  per  cent. !"  said  the  King.  "The  Emperor ! 
God  in  heaven !" 

King  Konrad  Karl  probably  feared  God  in  heaven 
very  little.  But  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  had  a 
nervous  dread  of  the  Emperor. 


CHAPTER  V 

"T\ONOVAN  was,  I  believe,  relieved  when  he 
•*-^  heard  that  he  could  not  buy  the  whole  king- 
dom of  Megalia.  The  price  would  have  been  enor- 
mous, but  he  would  not  have  hesitated  to  pay  it  if, 
by  paying,  he  would  have  got  what  he  wanted.  The 
more  he  looked  into  the  business  of  kingship,  the 
less  he  liked  it.  The  idea  of  Court  etiquette  worried 
him.  Donovan  disliked  dressing  for  dinner,  a  form 
of  activity  to  which  he  was  unaccustomed.  He  got 
it  into  his  head  that  the  father  of  the  reigning 
monarch  in  a  state  like  Megalia  might  be  called 
on  to  wear  uniforms,  troublesome  things  with  un- 
usual buttons  and  straps,  and  change  them  two  or 
three  times  a  day.  He  feared  that  such  a  combination 
of  exertion  and  worry  would  still  further  disorder 
the  action  of  his  heart.  He  saw  no  prospect  of  quiet 
indolence  among  a  people  which  went  in  for  revo- 
lutions as  a  pastime.  Salissa,  on  the  other  hand, 
seemed  almost  an  ideal  spot.  There  were  not  likely 
to  be  any  regular  postal  arrangements.  There  was 
certainly  no  cable.  Since  there  were  less  than  a 
hundred  inhabitants  a  liberal  pension  could  be  given 
to  each.  Pensioners  are  notoriously  peaceful  and 
unobtrusive  people. 


44  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

Miss  Daisy  was  a  little  disappointed  at  first ;  but 
only  at  first.  Once  she  hit  on  the  idea  that  her 
kingdom  would  be  the  "dinkiest"  in  Europe,  indeed 
in  the  world,  she  was  pleased.  The  negotiations 
were  rushed  through  at  a  pace  which  struck  even 
Gorman  as  indecent.  But  everybody  concerned 
was  in  a  hurry.  Konrad  Karl  was  afraid  that  the 
Emperor  might  hear  of  the  sale  through  the 
Megalian  ambassador  in  London.  But  that  gentle- 
man— he  was  a  Count,  I  think — was  under  the  in- 
fluence, probably  in  the  pay  of  the  Emperor,  and  had 
been  instructed  to  ignore  King  Konrad  Karl  as 
much  as  possible.  He  heard  nothing  about  the  mat- 
ter. Madame  Ypsilante  was  in  a  hurry  for  obvious 
reasons.  Miss  Daisy  Donovan  had  looked  at  the 
pearl  necklace  two  or  three  times,  and  there  was  a 
horrible  possibility  that  she  might  regard  it  as  a 
suitable  ornament  for  a  queen.  Miss  Daisy  was 
eager  to  see  her  island  kingdom  as  soon  as  possible. 
Donovan  himself  was  finding  London  less  restful 
than  ever.  He  wanted  to  get  the  Salissa  business 
settled  out  of  hand. 

It  was  settled  early  in  April.  I  never  heard  the 
exact  date  of  the  signing  of  the  papers,  but  April  the 
ist  would  have  been  appropriate.  An  immense 
document  was  drawn  up  by  a  solicitor,  a  cousin  of 
Gorman's  who  lived  in  a  small  west  of  Ireland 
town.  Gorman  said  he  gave  the  job  to  this  particu- 
lar man  because  no  London  lawyer  would  have  kept 
the  matter  secret  My  own  impression  is  that  no 
London  solicitor  would  have  undertaken  the  job 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  45 

at  all.  There  cannot  be  any  recognized  legal  form 
for  the  sale  of  kingdoms.  However,  Gorman's 
cousin  did  his  work  excellently.  The  document 
looked  well.  He  attached  eight  enormous  seals  to 
it,  and  he  had  several  of  the  most  important  clauses 
translated  into  Latin.  It  must  have  been  as  good 
as  it  looked.  Later  on  nearly  every  ambassador  in 
Europe  had  a  look  at  the  "instrument" — Gorman 
called  it  an  instrument  sometimes,  sometimes  a 
protocol — and  they  were  all  baffled.  The  American 
ambassador  in  Megalia  offered  Gorman's  cousin  a 
post  in  the  U.  S.  A.  diplomatic  service,  a  high  testi- 
monial to  his  abilities.  Miss  Daisy  and  her  heirs 
became  the  independent  sovereigns  of  the  Island 
of  Salissa.  Donovan  promised  to  pay  down  the 
purchase  money  as  soon  as  he  was  satisfied  that 
the  island  really  existed.  The  most  Gorman  could 
screw  out  of  him  in  the  way  of  an  advance  was 
£5,000. 

The  evening  after  the  "instrument"  was  signed, 
Gorman  had  a  visit  from  Goldsturmer,  the  well- 
known  jeweller.  The  man,  a  rather  unctuous,  but 
very  suave  and  polite  German  Jew,  was  shown  into 
Gorman's  sitting-room. 

"I  think,"  he  said,  "that  you  are  a  friend  of  his 
Majesty,  King  Konrad  Karl  of  Megalia?" 

Gorman  was  on  his  guard  and  determined  to  give 
away  no  information  of  any  kind.  The  King's 
nervous  fear  of  the  Emperor's  displeasure  had  im- 
pressed Gorman  with  the  necessity  of  keeping  the 
sale  of  Salissa  as  secret  as  possible;  but  he  could 


46  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

hardly  avoid  admitting  that  he  knew  King  Konrad 
Karl.  The  affairs  of  the  wine  company  had  occu- 
pied some  space  in  the  daily  papers,  and  the  names 
of  the  directors  had  been  published.  His  name  and 
the  King's  had  appeared  together  very  frequently. 

"And  perhaps,"  said  Goldsturmer,  "you  also  know 
Madame  Ypsilante?" 

"I  have  seen  the  lady,"  said  Gorman. 

Goldsturmer  was  not  in  the  least  discouraged  by 
Gorman's  reticence. 

"I  cannot,"  he  said,  "expect  you  to  answer  more 
frankly  unless  I  am  equally  frank  with  you.  I  am 
at  this  time  engaged  in  a  business  transaction  of 
some  importance  with  Madame  Ypsilante.  The 
sum  of  money  involved  is  very  large.  It  is" — Gold- 
sturmer's  tone  became  reverent — "£  10,000." 

"Can  she  pay?"  said  Gorman,  "not  that  it's  any 
affair  of  mine  whether  she  can  or  not." 

"The  lady  herself  cannot  pay;  but  the  King — 
she  tells  me  that  his  Majesty  has  recently  sold  an 
estate  situated  in  Megalia  to  a  wealthy  American. 
Now  if  that  is  true " 

"Perhaps  in  that  case  the  King  might  pay,"  said 
Gorman. 

"I  wonder,"  said  Goldsturmer,  "if  the  sale  has 
taken  place  ?" 

"Shouldn't  think  it  likely,"  said  Gorman. 

Goldsturmer  paused.  For  quite  a  minute  he  sat 
looking  at  Gorman.  Then  he  said : 

"In  a  matter  of  this  kind  I  am  prepared  to  pay 
for  information  which  would  be  of  use  to  me.  I 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  47 

shall  speak  frankly.  It  would  be  worth  my  while  to 
give  one  per  cent,  of  the  sum  involved  to  any  one 
who  could  tell  me  whether  the  sale  which  Madame 
mentioned  to  me  has  really  been  effected." 

"Ah,"  said  Gorman,  "one  per  cent,  on,  did  you 
say,  £10,000?" 

"It  would  amount  to  £100." 

"I  wish  I  could  earn  it,"  said  Gorman,  "but 
unfortunately  I  know  nothing  at  all  about  the 
matter." 

Political  life,  so  Gorman  has  often  told  me,  is  the 
very  best  education  obtainable  in  one  respect.  The 
politician  learns  to  lie  fluently  and  without  discom- 
fort. Even  politicians  are  not,  of  course,  always 
believed,  but  they  know  how  to  lie  in  a  way  which 
makes  it  very  difficult  for  any  one  to  give  expres- 
sion to  unbelief.  Goldsturmer  may  actually  have 
believed  Gorman.  He  certainly  pretended  to.  He 
did  not  even  offer  a  two  per  cent,  bonus. 

"I  must  ask  you  to  pardon  me,"  he  said,  "for 
occupying  your  time  with  my  inquiries.  I  thank 
you  for  the  way  in  which  you  have  received  me. 
Good-bye." 

He  bowed  his  way  to  the  door.  Then  he  turned 
to  Gorman  again. 

"You  will  understand,  I  am  sure,  that  mine  was  a 
purely  business  inquiry.  I  am  not  interested  in  any 
of  the  scandal  which  unfortunately  is  connected  with 
the  name  of  his  Majesty,  or  with  that  of  the  charm- 
ing lady  of  whom  I  spoke.  Still  less  am  I  con- 


48  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

earned  with  the  state  affairs  of  Megalia.  I  have  no 
connection  with  Megalia." 

Gorman  sat  thinking  for  a  while  after  Gold- 
sturmer  left  him.  The  jeweller's  visit  and  his  ques- 
tions were  natural  enough.  Such  inquiries  are  made 
every  day.  There  was  nothing  surprising  in  the 
offer  of  one  per  cent,  on  the  money  which  was  to 
change  hands  in  return  for  information.  Gorman 
was  a  politician.  It  was  not  the  first  time  he  had 
been  offered  a  commission.  He  hoped  it  would 
not  be  the  last.  What  puzzled  him  was  Gold- 
sturmer's  final  remark.  Why  should  the  man  have 
said  he  had  no  interest  in  the  state  affairs  of  Megalia 
unless  indeed  he  was  interested,  was  on  the  track 
of  a  suspected  secret  ? 

Once  more  Gorman  lamented  the  fact  that  women 
were  mixed  up  in  a  business  affair. 

"Damn  Madame  Ypsilante,"  he  said. 

Then,  finding  some  relief  for  his  feelings  in 
expressing  them  aloud : 

"Damn  that  woman's  tongue." 

Gorman  was  puzzled  and  therefore  anxious.  His 
commission  on  the  sale  of  Salissa — his  rake-off,  as 
Donovan  called  it — was  large,  a  sum  which  Gorman 
did  not  want  to  lose.  He  was  most  anxious  that 
the  transaction  should  be  successfully  completed  and 
the  money  actually  paid.  The  King's  evident  ner- 
vousness about  the  Emperor  impressed  him  un- 
pleasantly. Gorman  was  not  a  student  of  foreign 
politics.  He  did  not  know  precisely  what  the  Em- 
peror's position  was.  Megalia  was  nominally  an 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  49 

independent  state.  Its  King  could,  he  supposed, 
cede  a  portion  of  territory  to  a  foreign  power  with- 
out consulting  any  other  monarch.  Yet  the  Emperor 
evidently  had  to  be  considered,  might  put  a  stop  to 
the  whole  business.  Konrad  Karl  had  no  doubts 
about  that,  and  he  ought  to  know. 

I  am  sure  that  I  should  be  doing  Gorman  an 
injustice  if  I  were  to  represent  him  as  anxious  only 
about  the  commission.  He  had  a  queer  liking  for 
the  unfortunate  Konrad  Karl.  He  wanted — as 
everybody  who  knew  her  did — to  gratify  Miss  Daisy 
Donovan.  And  he  took  a  sporting  interest  in  the 
sale  of  Salissa.  There  was  a  novelty  about  the 
purchase  of  the  position  of  reigning  monarch  which 
appealed* to  Gorman,  and  there  were  all  sorts  of  pos- 
sibilities about  the  situation  and  its  future  develop- 
ments. 

A  week  later,  just  as  he  was  beginning  to  forget 
Goldsturmer's  visit,  Gorman  had  fresh  cause  for 
anxiety.  I  remember  the  day  very  well.  I  was 
lunching  at  my  club,  a  club  of  which  Gorman  is  also 
a  member.  As  I  entered  the  room  I  saw  him 
sitting  at  a  table  near  the  window.  I  intended  to 
join  him,  for  Gorman  is  always  good  company. 
When  I  reached  his  table  I  saw  that  he  already  had 
a  companion — Steinwitz,  the  director  of  the  Cyren- 
ian  Sea  Steam  Navigation  Company.  I  turned  away 
at  once,  for  Steinwitz  is  a  man  whom  I  particularly 
dislike.  Gorman  caught  sight  of  me  and  called : 

"Come  and  sit  here.  There's  plenty  of  room. 
The  waiter  can  lay  another  place." 


50  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"Thanks,"  I  said,  "but  I've  just  caught  sight 
of  a  man  at  the  far  end  of  the  room  whom  I  par- 
ticularly want  to  talk  to." 

"Talk  to  him  later  on,"  said  Gorman,  "Come 
and  sit  here  now." 

There  was  something  in  Gorman's  tone  which 
made  me  think  he  really  wanted  me  to  sit  at  his 
table,  that  he  had  a  motive  in  pressing  me  as  he  did. 
But  I  was  not  going  to  lunch  in  the  company  of 
Steinwitz.  I  have  nothing  definite  against  the  man ; 
but  I  do  not  like  him.  I  shook  my  head  and  found 
a  seat  at  the  far  end  of  the  room. 

Afterwards — months  afterwards — Gorman  told 
me  that  he  wanted  me  very  badly  that  day,  me  or 
some  one  else.  He  wanted  a  third  person  at  his 
table.  Steinwitz  was  asking  inconvenient  questions, 
talking  about  matters  Gorman  did  not  want  to  dis- 
cuss. The  presence  of  a  third  person  might  have 
saved  Gorman  some  awkwardness. 

Steinwitz  was  insistent  and  determined.  He  laid 
hold  on  Gorman  before  lunch  and  clung  to  him  until 
they  sat  down  together. 

"You  remember  asking  me,"  said  Steinwitz — 
"let  me  see,  it  must  have  been  a  couple  of  months 
ago — you  remember  asking  me  for  information 
about  Megalia." 

"Did  I  ?"  said  Gorman. 

"And  I  told  you  it  was  a  rotten  country — no 
trade,  no  harbours,  no  tourist  traffic,  no  anything. 
Well — rather  an  odd  thing  happened  yesterday.  A 
man  came  into  my  office — by  the  way,  you  know 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  51 

him,  I  think — Donovan,  the  American  million- 
aire  " 

"Oh,  yes,  I  know  him.  Owns  a  pretty  daughter, 
doesn't  he?" 

"She  was  with  him,"  said  Steinwitz — "a  roman- 
tic sort  of  girl,  I  should  say,  by  the  look  of  her. 
Head  stuffed  full  of  silly  fancies." 

Steinwitz'  eyes  were  on  Gorman  all  the  time  he 
was  speaking.  Gorman  says  he  felt  very  uncom- 
fortable, but  I  am  sure  he  did  not  show  it. 

"I  scarcely  know  the  girl,"  said  Gorman.  "What 
did  old  Donovan  want  with  you  ?" 

"Wanted  to  charter  a  steamer,  captain,  crew  and 
all,  one  of  our  boats.  Said  he  was  going  for  a 
cruise  off  the  coast  of  Megalia  and  wanted  a  big- 
gish ship  and  officers  who  know  the  Cyrenian  Sea 
thoroughly." 

"Odd  fancies  the  Americans  have,"  said  Gorman. 
"However,  he  can  pay  for  what  he  wants.  If  half 
what  they  say  about  him  is  true,  he  could  buy  up 
your  whole  fleet  without  missing  the  money." 

"He  certainly  did  not  boggle  over  the  figure  I 
named." 

"Oh,  you  let  him  have  the  ship  then  ?" 

"Certainly.  Trade  is  dull  in  those  parts  now. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  the  Ida  was  lying  up." 

Gorman  pretended  to  yawn  by  way  of  showing 
how  very  little  interest  he  took  in  the  matter. 

"Hope  he'll  enjoy  the  trip,"  he  said.  Doesn't 
sound  an  attractive  country  by  your  account." 

"Well,"  said  Steinwitz,  "there  are  some  interest- 


52  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

ing  things  to  see.  There's  the  Island  of  Salissa,  for 
instance." 

Gorman  was  startled  by  the  mention  of  Salissa. 
He  may  possibly  have  shown  his  surprise.  Stein- 
witz  went  on: 

"By  the  way,  talking  of  Salissa,  Goldsturmer  told 
me  a  curious  thing  the  other  day.  You  know  Gold- 
sturmer, don't  you  ?" 

"The  jewel  man?" 

"Yes.  He  says  your  friend  Donovan  has  bought 
the  island  of  Salissa  from  that  picturesque  black- 
guard King  Konrad  Karl.  I  wonder  if  that  can  be 
true.  Goldsturmer  says  he  has  it  on  the  best  au- 
thority." 

"Those  'best  authorities',"  said  Gorman,  "are  in- 
variably liars.  I  have  known  scores  of  them." 

"I  daresay  you're  right,"  said  Steinwitz;  "any- 
how, in  this  case  the  authority  wasn't  one  that  I 
should  care  to  rely  on.  It  was  Madame  Ypsilante 
— a  very  charming  lady,  but " 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"I  wouldn't  care  to  bet  my  last  shilling,"  said 
Gorman,  "on  the  truth  of  a  statement  made  by 
Madame  Ypsilante." 

"In  this  case,"  said  Steinwitz>  "her  story  was  a 
ridiculous  one,  absurd  on  the  face  of  it.  She  said 
that  the  American  girl  wants  to  set  up  as  a  monarch 
and  that  Konrad  Karl  had  sold  her  the  right  to  call 
herself  Queen  of  Salissa." 

^'Either  Goldsturmer  was  pulling  your  leg,"  said 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  53 

Gorman,  "or  Madame  was  pulling  his.  Was  she 
trying  to  get  anything  out  of  him?" 

"Pearls,"  said  Steinwitz.  "There  is  a  certain 
rope  of  pearls " 

"That  accounts  for  the  whole  thing,"  said  Gor- 
man. 

Steinwitz  seemed  quite  satisfied  that  it  did.  But 
he  was  not  inclined  to  drop  the  subject  altogether. 

"A  sale  of  that  sort,"  he  said,  "would  be  impos- 
sible. The  Emperor  wouldn't  permit  it." 

Then  Gorman  made  a  mistake.  For  the  first 
time  he  showed  a  real  interest  in  what  Steinwitz 
said.  There  is  every  excuse  for  him.  He  wanted 
very  much  to  understand  the  Emperor's  position; 
and  Steinwitz  had  already  heard — possibly  believed 
— the  story  of  the  sale  of  Salissa. 

"What  on  earth  has  the  Emperor  got  to  do  with 
it?"  said  Gorman.  "Megalia  is  an  independent 
state,  isn't  it  ?" 

Steinwitz  laughed. 

"Very  few  states,"  he  said,  "are  independent  of 
the  Emperor." 

There  was  something  in  the  way  he  spoke,  a  note 
of  arrogance,  a  suggestion  of  truculence,  which 
nettled  Gorman. 

"Donovan,"  he  said,  "is  a  free  citizen  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  That's  what  he  says 
himself.  I  don't  expect  he  cares  a  damn  about 
any  emperor." 

"Ah  well,"  said  Steinwitz,  "it  does  not  matter, 
does  it?  Since  he  has  not  bought  the  Island  of 


54  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

Salissa,  no  question  is  likely  to  arise.  The  Emperor 
will  not  object  to  his  wandering  round  the  Cyrenian 
Sea  in  the  Ida." 

Gorman  was  singularly  dull  when  he  joined  me 
in  the  smoking-room  after  luncheon.  I  do  not 
recollect  any  other  occasion  on  which  I  found  him 
disinclined  to  talk.  I  opened  the  most  seductive 
subjects.  I  said  I  was  sure  Ulster  really  meant  to 
take  up  arms  against  Home  Rule.  I  said  that  the 
Sinn  Feiners  were  getting  stronger  and  stronger  in 
Ireland,  and  that  neither  Gorman  nor  any  member 
of  his  party  would  be  returned  at  the  next  General 
Election.  Gorman  must  have  wanted  to  contradict 
me ;  but  he  did  not  say  a  word.  It  was  only  when 
I  got  up  to  go  away  that  he  spoke;  and  then  he 
made  a  remark  which  had  no  bearing  whatever  on 
anything  which  I  had  said. 

"Women,"  he  growled,  "are  hell.  In  business 
they're  red  hell." 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  Donovans  started  for  Salissa  within  three 
weeks  of  the  completion  of  the  sale  of  the 
island.  This  was  a  remarkable  achievement,  and  the 
whole  credit  is  due  to  the  amazing  energy  of  Miss 
Daisy.  She  was  all  eagerness  to  enter  into  the  pos- 
session of  her  kingdom ;  but  she  had  no  idea  of  going 
to  an  unknown  island  without  proper  supplies.  She 
bought  furniture  for  her  house.  King  Konrad  Karl 
was  of  opinion  that  there  must  be  furniture  in  it. 
The  Prime  Minister,  the  Commander-in-Chief  and 
the  Admiral  had  almost  certainly  carried  off  any 
jewellery  or  plate  there  might  have  been,  after  the 
assassination  of  the  late  king.  Tables,  chairs,  car- 
pets and  beds,  they  must,  he  thought,  have  left  be- 
hind, because  the  Megalian  Navy  was  not  big 
enough  to  carry  very  much  cargo.  But  Miss  Daisy 
took  no  risks.  She  bought  everything  necessary 
for  a  house  of  moderate  size,  and  had  the  packing1 
cases  put  into  the  hold  of  the  Ida. 

She  gave  large  orders  for  every  kind  of  portable 
provisions.  She  entrusted  a  wine  merchant  with 
the  duty  of  stocking  the  royal  cellars.  Certain 
dressmakers — eight,  I  believe — were  kept  busy. 
The  new  queen  did  not  actually  purchase  royal 
55 


56  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

robes ;  but  she  got  every  other  kind  of  clothes  from 
the  most  fantastic  teagowns  to  severe  costumes 
designed  for  mountaineering.  There  might  be  a 
mountain  in  Salissa.  The  Queen  liked  to  be  pre- 
pared for  it  if  it  were  there. 

She  engaged  a  staff  of  servants,  hitting  on  twenty 
as  a  suitable  number  for  the  household  of  a  queen 
of  a  small  state.  The  chief  of  this  band  was  a 
dignified  man  who  had  once  been  butler  to  a  duke. 
Miss  Daisy  gave  him  the  title  of  major  domo,  and 
provided  him  with  a  thick  gold  chain  to  hang  round 
his  neck.  There  were  alterations  to  be  made  in  the 
Ida,  a  steamer  not  originally  intended  to  carry 
passengers.  These  were  left  to  Steinwitz ;  but  Miss 
Daisy  managed  to  run  down  every  day  to  see  that 
the  work  was  being  done  as  quickly  as  possible. 
She  had  interviews  with  Captain  Wilson,  who  com- 
manded the  Ida,  and  Mr.  Maurice  Phillips,  the 
first  officer.  She  asked  them  both  to  dinner.  Cap- 
tain Wilson,  a  Scot,  was  taciturn  and  suspicious. 
He  regarded  the  job  before  him  as  an  objectionable 
kind  of  practical  joke,  likely,  before  it  was  over, 
to  impair  his  natural  dignity.  Mr.  Phillips  was 
filled  with  delight  at  the  prospect.  He  was  a  young 
man  with  curly  fair  hair  and  cheerful  eyes. 

The  start  might  have  been  made  in  even  less  than 
three  weeks,  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  Heralds" 
Office.  Miss  Daisy  wanted  a  banner  to  hoist  over 
the  royal  palace  in  Salissa.  She  consulted  Gorman, 
and  gathered  from  what  he  told  her  that  heralds 
are  experts  in  designing  banners.  She  found  her 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  57 

way  to  the  office  and  explained  what  she  wanted  to 
a  suave,  but  rather  anaemic  young  gentleman  who 
talked  about  quarterings.  Miss  Daisy  was  not  to 
be  cowed  by  jargon. 

"Put  in  any  quarterings  you  fancy,"  she  said. 
"I'm  not  particular.  If  ghules,  argents  and  ram- 
parts are  extra,  I  am  prepared  to  pay.  But  don't 
you  meditate  too  much  on  the  unforgotten  glories 
of  the  past.  Get  a  move  on." 

That  it  appeared  was  the  one  thing  the  Heralds' 
Office  could  not  do.  Miss  Daisy  stormed  at  its 
doors.  She  telephoned  at  short  intervals  all  day. 
She  even  tried  to  persuade  her  father  to  take  part 
in  the  persecution.  But  Mr.  Donovan  was  too 
wise. 

"There  are  things,"  he  said,  "which  cannot  be 
done.  No  man  living,  not  even  a  railway  boss — 
can  speed  up  a  state  department." 

"Any  firm  in  New  York,"  said  Miss  Daisy, 
"would  have  sent  in  designs  for  a  dozen  banners 
in  half  the  time  that  young  man  in  the  Heraldry 
Office  has  been  thinking  about  one." 

"Heralds,"  said  Mr.  Donovan,  "are  mediaeval. 
If  they  laid  hold  on  the  idea  of  an  automobile  and 
went  in  for  speed,  they'd  lose  grip  on  the  science  of 
heraldry." 

In  the  end,  goaded  and  worried  by  Miss  Daisy 
into  a  condition  of  bewildered  exasperation,  the 
Heralds'  Office  produced  a  large  pale-blue  flag.  In 
the  middle  of  it  was  a  white  flower,  said  to  be  a 
daisy.  It  arrived  at  Southampton  by  the  hand  of 


58  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

a  special  messenger  just  before  the  sailing  of  the  Ida. 
Later  on — when  that  flag  became  a  subject  for 
argument  among  diplomatists — the  heralds  dis- 
claimed all  real  responsibility  for  it.  They  said 
that  they  had  no  idea  they  were  making  a  ro/al 
standard.  They  said  that  they  understood  that 
they  were  preparing  a  flag  for  a  young  lady's  house- 
boat. Miss  Daisy  asserts,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
her  orders  were  quite  distinct.  She  told  the  anaemic 
young  man  at  their  first  interview  that  she  wanted 
a  "Royal  Banner,  done  according  to  the  best  Euro- 
pean specification." 

Nine  of  the  servants  refused  to  sail  at  the  last 
moment.  They  alleged  that  the  sleeping  accom- 
modation on  board  the  Ida  was  not  what  they  were 
accustomed  to.  The  major  domo  only  agreed  to 
go  on  board  when  he  was  given  the  cabin  originally 
intended  for  Miss  Daisy.  She  occupied  that  which 
had  been  allotted  to  a  kitchenmaid,  one  of  the 
deserters.  Steinwitz  and  Gorman,  who  saw  the 
party  off,  induced  the  other  ten  servants  to  go  on 
board,  apologizing  humbly  to  them  and  explaining 
that  the  cabins  in  the  Ida  had  necessarily  been 
very  hurriedly  made.  For  all  the  use  any  of  the 
servants  were  on  the  voyage,  or  afterwards,  they 
might  as  well  have  stayed  at  home.  The  major 
domo  shut  himself  up  in  his  cabin  and  was  reso- 
lutely seasick  even  in  the  calmest  weather.  The 
others,  though  not  as  sick  as  he  was,  pretended  to 
be  incapable  of  doing  anything. 

The  Donovan's,  Captain  Wilson  and  Mr.  Phillips 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  59 

were  waited  on  by  a  steward,  a  man  called  Smith 
who  had  been  brought  from  London  and  added  to 
the  ship's  company  at  the  last  moment  by  Stein- 
witz.  He  proved  to  be  an  excellent  servant  and  a 
man  of  varied  talents.  He  took  a  hand  in  the  cook- 
ing, mixed  cocktails,  and  acted  as  valet  to  Mr.  Don- 
ovan, waited  at  table,  made  beds  and  kept  the  cabins 
beautifully  clean.  He  even  found  time  to  save 
the  major  domo  from  starvation  by  bringing  him 
soup  and  dry  toast  occasionally. 

Captain  Wilson,  who  could  not  get  over  the  idea 
that  he  was  being  made  to  look  ridiculous,  remained 
rather  aloof  during  the  voyage.  He  accepted  the 
cigars  which  Donovan  pressed  on  him,  and  was 
civil  to  Miss  Daisy,  but  he  made  no  pretence  of 
enjoying  himself.  Mr.  Phillips  was  in  high  spirits 
the  whole  time.  He  fell  in  love  with  Miss  Daisy 
the  moment  he  saw  her.  But  there  was  nothing 
mournful  or  despairing  about  the  way  the  great 
passion  took  him.  He  never  brooded  in  silence 
over  the  hopelessness  of  his  prospects;  though  as 
a  subordinate  officer  in  the  merchant  service,  he  had 
not  much  chance  of  marrying  one  of  the  richest 
heiresses  in  Europe.  His  devotion  was  like  that  of 
a  frisky  terrier  which  gambols  round  an  adored 
mistress.  Miss  Daisy  found  him  a  most  agreeable 
young  man. 

It  was  he,  and  not  Captain  Wilson,  who  came  to 
her  one  evening  with  the  news  that  they  might 
expect  to  sight  Salissa  next  morning.  Miss  Daisy 
scarcely  slept.  At  five  o'clock  she  was  on  the 


60  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

bridge.  Captain  Wilson  told  her  that  she  might 
safely  go  to  bed  again  till  seven  or  eight.  But  she 
stayed  where  she  was.  Mr.  Phillips  fetched  a  cup 
of  tea  for  her  at  six  and  another  at  seven.  She 
drank  both  and  ate  a  good  deal  of  bread  and  butter. 
When  at  last  the  island  appeared,  a  dim  speck  on 
a  clear  horizon  line,  she  danced  with  excitement, 
and  sent  Mr.  Phillips  below  to  fetch  her  father. 
Mr.  Donovan  was  at  breakfast,  attended  by  Smith, 
and  flatly  refused  to  stir.  Captain  Wilson,  satisfied 
that  the  island  lay  just  where  he  expected  it,  left 
the  bridge  and  joined  Mr.  Donovan.  Miss  Daisy 
and  Mr.  Phillips  stood  together,  their  eyes  fixed 
on  the  island. 

Salissa  is  a  beautiful  island  and  had  the  good 
fortune  to  look  its  best  when  its  new  queen  saw  it. 
The  sky  was  cloudless.  The  sea  was  almost  calm. 
The  island  rose,  clear  outlined,  from  the  blue  water. 
There  are  some  islands,  as  there  are  some  com- 
plexions, which  are  best  looked  at  in  a  light  which 
is  not  too  clear,  which  require  a  dimness,  a  little 
mist,  to  make  them  beautiful.  Salissa — Phillips 
would  have  said  the  same  of  Salissa's  mistress — 
was  at  its  loveliest  on  a  clear  May  morning.  The 
island  appeared  first  as  a  flattened  cone,  intensely 
green.  Then,  as  the  steamer  drew  nearer,  the  cliffs 
which  embraced  the  natural  harbour  shone  out 
dazzlingly  white.  The  sea  rolled  lazily,  a  belt  of 
foam  across  the  reef  which  almost  blocked  the 
entrance  to  the  bay.  Beneath  the  cliffs,  right 
under  them,  the  colour  of  the  water  turned  to  the 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  61 

palest  blue.  On  the  south  side  of  the  bay  was  a 
sandy  beach,  and  above  it  a  small  village,  seen  to 
be  a  village  afterwards,  at  first  no  more  than 
splashes  of  bright  colour,  blue  and  red.  Behind 
the  village,  sloping  upwards,  was  a  broad  stretch 
of  cultivated  land. 

"Vineyards,"  said  Mr.  Phillips,  who  had  voyaged 
much  about  the  Cyrenian  Sea. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  bay,  opposite  the  cot- 
tages, a  promontory  ran  out  into  the  water.  On  it, 
sometimes  on  its  very  edge,  sometimes  drawn  a 
little  back  with  a  space  of  smooth  rocks  in  front  of 
it,  was  the  house  built  by  King  Otto,  Konrad  Karl's 
unfortunate  predecessor  on  the  Megalian  throne. 
Perhaps  that  king  himself  had  a  taste  for  the 
fantastic.  Perhaps  he  was  only  a  commonplace 
man  who  had  the  luck  to  employ  an  architect  of 
airy  genius.  The  house  was  the  palace  of  a  dream 
of  fairyland.  It  was  built  of  the  white  stone  of 
the  island.  Long  windows  opened  on  balconies 
supported  on  white  pillars  which  stood  in  the  water. 
There  were  little  glistening  spires  which  rose  from 
steep  patches  of  red  roof.  There  were  broad 
shaded  porches  and  flights  of  shallow  white  steps 
which  led  down  into  the  water.  The  ground  plan 
of  the  house  followed  the  outline  of  the  promontory 
on  which  it  stood.  Only  in  the  upper  storey  did 
the  eye  find  rest  in  a  straight  line.  There  nine 
great  windows,  green  jalousied,  gave  upon  a  wide 
balcony.  At  one  place  where  the  rock  had  been 
eaten  into  by  the  sea,  the  architect  had  built  over 


62  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

water  which  sighed  and  gurgled  among  mysteri- 
ous green  shades  under  vaulted  roofs  among  the 
foundations  of  the  house. 

Miss  Daisy,  standing  on  the  bridge,  clapped  her 
hands  and  then  stood  silent  and  motionless  in  an 
ecstasy  of  delight.  Mr.  Phillips,  his  eyes  on  the 
girl,  rang  the  ship's  engines  to  "Dead  Slow"  and 
sent  a  man  to  summon  Captain  Wilson. 

The  steamer  slid  slowly  through  the  water 
towards  the  opening  at  the  south  end  of  the  protect- 
ing reef.  Captain  Wilson  came  on  deck.  Mr. 
Donovan  followed  him.  He  stood  leaning  over  the 
bulwarks  just  forward  of  the  bridge.  Miss  Daisy 
ran  to  him  and  seized  his  arm. 

"Father,"  she  cried,  "isn't  it  all  lovely?  Isn't 
it  just  a  dream?  Look  at  the  two  cottages.  Look 
at  the  cliffs  and  the  blue  water.  Did  you  ever  see 
such  blue ?  and  now " 

The  ship  swung  slowly  round  the  south  end  of  the 
reef.  The  house  on  the  promontory  came  full  in 
view. 

"And  now  look  at  the  castle.  It's  too  fairy  for 
anything,  isn't  it?" 

"Reminds  me  quite  a  bit,"  said  Donovan,  "of 
the  hotel  at  the  south  end  of  the  Marine  Parade  at 
Atlantic  City.  Kind  of  fanciful." 

"It's  a  dream  come  true,"  said  Miss  Daisy. 

Mr.  Donovan  turned  round.  Behind  him,  in  a 
respectful  attitude,  stood  the  major  domo.  A  little 
further  back,  grouped  together,  were  his  ten  fel- 
low-servants, all  in  respectful  attitudes. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  63 

"Beg  pardon,  sir,"  said  the  major  domo. 

The  man,  though  engaged  by  Miss  Daisy,  had 
from  the  first  refused  to  recognize  her  as  his  mis- 
tress. The  negotiations  in  Southampton  about  the 
cabin  had  been  carried  on  with  Mr.  Donovan.  It 
was  to  Mr.  Donovan  that  he  spoke  now. 

"Beg  pardon,  sir,"  he  said,  "but  does  the  family 
propose  to  reside  here  for  any  length  of  time?" 

Mr.  Donovan  waved  his  hand  towards  Miss 
Daisy.  She  realized  that,  as  queen  of  the  island,  it 
was  her  business  to  decide  the  movements  of  the 
court. 

"Always,"  she  said.  "For  ever  and  ever  and 
ever.  I  shall  never  live  anywhere  else,  and  when 
I  die  I'll  be  buried  here." 

"In  that  case,  sir,"  said  the  major  domo,  still  ig- 
noring the  queen,  "I  must  request,  in  the  name  of 
self  and  the  rest  of  the  staff,  to  return  to  England 
at  once,  sir,  and  if  I  may  add  a  suggestion,  sir,  I'd 
say  by  rail.  This  ship  is  not  what  we've  been  ac- 
customed to  in  places  where  we've  lived  before." 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Donovan,  "you  can  go  back 
if  you  like.  Salissa  is  a  free  state,  though  not  a 
republic;  but  there's  liable  to  be  some  delay  if  you 
wait  for  a  train." 

"You  nasty  beasts!"  said  Miss  Daisy.  "You've 
spoiled  the  whole  thing  now  by  being  cats.  Just 
when  everything  was  beautiful  and  I  was  so  happy. 
I'd  like  to  tell  you  what  I  think  of  you  all.  Oh,  I 

do  wish  Mr.  Phillips  was  here.  He'd Oh, 

father,  would  you  ?  I'm  sure  you  could." 


64  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

Mr.  Donovan  looked  at  her  and  waited.  In  time, 
such  was  his  experience,  Miss  Daisy  usually  ex- 
plained what  she  wanted  pretty  clearly. 

"I  once  heard  Mr.  Phillips  talking  to  one  of  the 
sailors,"  she  said.  "He  didn't  know  I  was  listen- 
ing, of  course.  The  sailor  had  been  messing  things 
about  in  a  wrong  way,  and  Mr.  Phillips " 

"Language  ?"  said  Mr.  Donovan. 

"It  was  splendid.  I  never  knew  before  that  there 
were  such  words." 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Donovan,  "I  haven't  cursed 
any  for  quite  a  bit;  but  I'm  willing  to  try.  But 
you'd  better  run  up  the  bridge,  Daisy,  right  now, 
before  I  start.  I  might  be  kind  of  held  back  from 
some  expressions  if  I  knew  you  were  listening." 

Miss  Daisy,  who  was  sometimes  quite  an  obedient 
girl,  reached  the  bridge  in  time  to  hear  the  order 
given,  and  to  see  the  anchor  splash  into  the  blue 
water. 

Mr.  Donovan  began  to  speak  slowly  and  very 
quietly.  It  took  the  women  servants  nearly  two 
minutes  to  realize  that  he  was  using  the  most 
atrocious  language.  Then  they  fled.  The  three 
footmen  stood  their  ground  a  little  longer.  Mr. 
Donovan  raised  his  voice  a  little.  He  felt  old 
powers  returning  to  him.  He  became  fluent.  One 
by  one  the  footmen  slank  away.  Mr.  Donovan  went 
on,  without  passion  or  heat.  He  arrived  at  a  ter- 
rific malediction  which  he  had  found  effective  many 
years  before  in  dealing  with  Italian  navvies.  The 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  65 

major  domo  cowered,  his  hands  held  to  his  ears, 
and  vanished  into  the  cabin. 

Mr.  Donovan  took  from  his  pocket  a  large  purple 
handkerchief.  He  wiped  away  the  sweat  which 
had  gathered  on  his  upper  lip.  Then  he  looked 
round  him  with  an  air  of  satisfaction.  There  was 
no  one  left  near  him  except  Smith,  the  ship's  stew- 
ard, who  stood  in  a  respectful  attitude  apparently 
waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  speak. 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Mr.  Donovan,  "that  I  can 
do  any  more  real  high-class  cursing,  without  prep- 
aration; but  if  you're  not  satisfied  I'm  willing  to 
try." 

"I  was  only  going  to  suggest,  sir,"  said  Smith, 
"that  if  it  would  be  any  convenience  to  you,  sir, 

and  to  her  Majesty "  Mr.  Donovan  started.  It 

was  the  first  time  Miss  Daisy  had  been  given  her 
new  title. 

"I'd  be  very  glad,  sir,  to  remain  with  you  and  do 
all  I  can,  sir,  to  make  you  comfortable — subject 
to  Captain  Wilson's  permission.  Of  course  you'll 
understand,  sir,  that  I  signed  on  as  ship's  steward. 
I  couldn't  leave  my  duty,  sir,  if  Captain  Wilson 
required  me." 

"Smith,"  said  Mr.  Donovan,  "you're  a  white 
man.  I'll  square  things  up  with  Captain  Wilson. 
He  can  have  the  use  of  that  sausage  skin  of  a  butler 
on  the  voyage  home.  I  hope  he'll  just  set  those 
able-bodied  wasters  of  footmen  to  shovel  coal  in 
the  stokehole.  I  shan't  say  a  word  if  he  corrects 
the  women  with  a  rope's  end  every  time  they're 


66  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

seasick.  I'm  a  humanitarian,  Smith,  opposed  to 
executions  and  corporal  punishment  on  principle,  in 
a  general  way;  but  I'm  not  a  hide-bound  doctrin- 
naire.  There  are  circumstances — I  kind  of  feel  that 
the  British  domestic  servant  is  one  of  these  circum- 
stances." 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Smith.    "Quite  so,  sir." 


CHAPTER  VII 

TTISTORY  says  little  about  them,  but  there 
•••  •••  doubtless  have  been  queens  who  lacked  dig- 
nity, queens  with  high  spirits  and  little  sense  of 
decorum,  queens  who  outraged  pompous  chamber- 
lains and  brought  shame  into  the  lives  of  stately 
chancellors.  The  behaviour  of  the  new  queen  of 
Salissa  caused  no  scandal;  but  that  was  only  be- 
cause there  was  no  one  in  her  small  court  who  had 
any  sense  of  the  dignity  proper  to  queens.  The 
major  domo's  feelings  would  certainly  have  been 
outraged  if  he  watched  Queen  Daisy  make  her  first 
royal  progress.  But  he  was  shut  up  in  his  cabin. 
The  other  servants  might  have  quivered  with  shame 
and  disgust  if  they  had  seen — but  they  saw  nothing, 
having  turned  away  their  eyes  from  beholding 
vanity. 

After  the  cable  had  ceased  rattling  through  the 
hawse  hole  Miss  Daisy  demanded  a  boat.  Scarcely 
waiting  for  Captain  Wilson's  word,  Mr.  Phillips 
rushed  to  lower  one.  Lashings  were  cast  loose,  the 
boat  was  swung  outboard  and  manned  with  a  speed 
which  would  have  done  credit  to  a  smart  yacht's 
crew.  Miss  Daisy  ran  to  her  cabin.  The  oarsmen 
sat  ready  to  push  off.  Mr.  Phillips  stood  in  the 
67 


68  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

stern  sheets,  the  tiller  between  his  feet.  Miss  Daisy 
appeared  at  the  top  of  the  accommodation  ladder. 
She  held  a  large  parcel  in  her  hand. 

"Catch,"  she  said  to  Mr.  Phillips,  "it's  the  flag." 

She  flung  it.  Mr.  Phillips  with  a  wild  grab  saved 
it  from  the  sea.  Miss  Daisy  laughed  joyously. 

"Catch  again,"  she  said,  "the  palace  keys." 

A  bunch  of  keys  crashed  on  the  floor  boards  of 
the  boat  between  the  feet  of  the  man  who  rowed 
stroke.  Mr.  Phillips  picked  them  up.  Miss  Daisy, 
disdaining  a  helping  hand  held  out  by  Smith, 
skipped  down  the  steps ;  her  skirt  held  tight  in  one 
hand  she  leaped  into  the  boat. 

"Quickly,"  she  cried,  "oh,  quickly,  quickly! 
Please  don't  be  long." 

"Shove  off,"  said  Mr.  Phillips,  "and  pull  like— 
pull  like " 

"Say  it,"  said  Miss  Daisy,  "say  it,  if  it  will  make 
them  go  quicker." 

"Pull,"  said  Mr.  Phillips,  "pull  like— billy-o." 

The  men  pulled.  Not  even  the  expected  invoca- 
tion of  bloody  hell  would  have  stirred  them  to 
greater  exertions.  The  boat  sprang  forward.  She 
sped  towards  the  palace.  The  water  bubbled  round 
her  bows,  swished  and  foamed  in  the  wake  astern 
of  her.  Mr.  Phillips  brought  her  up  alongside  a 
broad  flight  of  white  steps.  The  men  clawed  at 
the  smooth  stone  with  their  fingers.  The  Queen 
stepped  ashore. 

She  stood  on  the  lowest  step,  a  figure  poised  for 
swift  eager  motion,  a  flushed  excited  girl,  a  queen 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  69 

with  palpitating  heart  and  eyes  full  of  dancing  mer- 
riment. The  steps,  blazing  white  in  the  sunshine, 
led  up  to  a  broad  platform  where  a  tall  flagstaff 
stood.  Behind  was  all  the  fantastic  wonder  of  the 
palace,  the  porticoes,  slender  carved  columns,  stone 
lacework  of  flying  buttresses,  spires,  hollowed  spaces 
of  dark  shade,  points  of  sparkling  light,  broad  sur- 
faces of  dazzling  whiteness.  Mr.  Phillips  leaped 
ashore  and  passed  the  Queen,  bounding  up  the  steps 
to  the  platform.  He  carried  in  his  hand  the  parcel 
which  she  had  flung  into  the  boat.  He  reached  the 
flagstaff.  He  knotted  a  light  line  round  his  waist. 
He  swarmed  up  the  bare  pole.  He  rove  the  line 
through  the  block  at  the  top  of  the  staff  and  slid 
to  earth  again.  He  bent  the  halyard  to  the  flag. 
It  ran  up,  a  neat  ball.  With  a  sharp  chuck  at  the 
line  Mr.  Phillips  broke  it  out.  The  Royal  Standard 
of  Salissa  fluttered  in  the  morning  breeze,  pale  blue, 
glorious. 

Mr.  Phillips  shouted : 

"Long  live  the  Queen!  long  live  the  Queen!" 

The  Queen,  still  standing  on  the  bottom  step, 
gave  a  little  cry  of  delight.  The  men  in  the  boat 
sat  still,  with  puzzled  grins  on  their  faces.  Mr. 
Phillips  bounded  down  to  them,  leaping  the  steps 
in  threes  and  fours. 

"Cheer,  you  blighters,"  he  said,  "unless  you  want 
your  silly  skulls  smashed.  Cheer  like  billy-o.  Long 
live  the  Queen !" 

The  men  scrambled  to  their  feet  and  responded. 
Their  cheers  rang  out.  One  of  them,  moved  to 


70  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

enthusiasm,  seized  his  oar  and  beat  the  water  with 
the  flat  of  the  blade.  Like  a  man  with  a  flail  he 
raised  the  oar  high  and  brought  it  down  with  loud 
smacks  on  the  water,  splashing  up  sparkling  drops, 
rocking  the  boat  in  which  he  stood.  He  was  not  a 
native  of  Salissa,  not  a  subject  of  the  Queen,  but  his 
action  expressed  the  enthusiasm  of  devoted  loyalty. 

The  Queen  bowed,  blushing,  laughing,  breathless 
with  excitement. 

Across  the  bay  came  the  sound  of  shouting  from 
the  men  on  board  the  Ida,  ragged  cheers.  The 
steamer's  syren  shrieked.  Mr.  Donovan  stood  on 
the  bridge,  the  rope  which  controlled  the  syren 
in  his  hand.  The  Queen  waved  to  him.  Five 
revolver  shots  rang  out  in  quick  succession. 

"Good  old  Wilson!"  said  Mr.  Phillips.  "I 
wouldn't  have  thought  he  had  it  in  him  to  fire  a 
royal  salute." 

He  gave  Captain  Wilson  credit  which  was  not 
his  due.  It  was  Smith,  the  steward,  who  fired  the 
revolver.  Afterwards  that  loyal  servant  excused 
himself  to  Mr.  Donovan. 

"Beg  pardon,  sir,"  he  said,  "perhaps  I  oughtn't 
to  have  fired  without  orders ;  but  it  seemed  the 
proper  thing  to  do,  sir." 

"Do  you  always  carry  a  gun  in  your  pocket?" 
said  Mr.  Donovan. 

"Only  when  I'm  among  Eastern  peoples,  sir.  It's 
wiser  then.  Not  in  England,  sir." 

The  Queen,  standing  radiant  in  the  sunshine  be- 
fore her  palace,  gave  her  first  royal  command. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  71 

"Mr.  Phillips,"  she  said,  "take  the  keys  and  come 
along." 

They  ran  up  the  steps  together,  past  the  flagstaff, 
crossed  a  space  of  smooth  white  rock,  and  reached 
the  great  door  which  faced  them.  Mr.  Phillips 
fitted  the  key  and  flung  the  door  wide.  A  gloomy 
cool  space  lay  before  them.  They  were  standing 
in  bright  sunshine  and  a  glow  of  reflected  light. 
Their  eyes  failed  to  penetrate  the  darkness  before 
them.  It  was  as  if  a  thick  black  curtain  hung 
inside  the  door.  The  Queen  hesitated  on  the  thres- 
hold. Mr.  Phillips  entered  the  room.  He  threw 
open  the  shutters  and  flung  the  great  windows  wide. 
Broad  belts  of  light  crossed  the  room.  The  sun- 
shine flooded  it.  The  morning  breeze  blew  in,  driv- 
ing before  it  the  heavy  stagnant  air. 

The  Queen  entered. 

She  stood  in  a  great  hall.  Round  the  walls  hung 
pictures  in  tarnished  frames.  Rich  furniture,  damp- 
stained  and  worm-eaten,  stood  stiffly  arranged  as  if 
for  some  great  function.  Only  here  and  there  was 
evidence  of  some  disorder.  A  table  was  upset 
near  the  fireplace.  The  covering  of  a  chair  had 
been  torn,  and  the  hair  stuffing  of  its  cushions 
bulged  through  the  rent.  The  ashes  of  a  wood  fire 
and  the  charred  remains  of  half-burnt  logs  were  on 
the  hearth.  Some  papers  lay  scattered  on  the  floor 
near  one  of  the  windows. 

The  Queen,  subdued,  quieter,  went  on  tip-toe 
round  the  room.  She  touched  the  furniture  and 
the  pictures  softly,  as  she  passed  them.  There 


72  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

was  in  her  a  feeling,  half  fear,  half  reverence,  for 
the  things  which  had  once  belonged  to  the  dead 
King  Otto.  Phillips,  moved  by  an  impulse  of 
curiosity,  crossed  the  room  to  where  the  torn  papers 
lay.  He  stooped  down  and  picked  up  some  of  the 
fragments.  For  the  most  part  they  were  blank. 
On  one  or  two  there  were  words  in  a  language  he 
did  not  understand.  Only  one  fragment  interested 
him.  It  was  the  corner  of  a  torn  envelope.  It 
bore  an  English  stamp  and  a  London  postmark. 

"Your  Majesty,"  he  said. 

She  did  not  hear  or  did  not  reply.  Mr.  Phillips 
was  not  used  to  intimate  association  with  royal 
persons.  He  tried  another  form  of  address.  "Your 
Serene  Highness,"  he  said. 

The  Queen  looked  round. 

"Do  you  mean  me?"  she  said. 

"Yes,  your  Excellency,"  said  Phillips. 

The  Queen  laughed  aloud.  The  sound  of  his 
voice  and  her  own,  the  ready  merriment  of  her 
laughter,  awoke  her  from  the  fear  and  reverence, 
scattered  the  vague  feeling  of  mystery  which  hung 
over  her. 

"Don't  you  do  it,"  she  said.  "I'm  queen  of  this 
island  right  enough,  but  I  don't  mean  to  spend  the 
rest  of  my  life  walking  on  stilts.  I'm  not  that  kind 
of  queen.  I'm  a  genuine  democrat  all  the  time. 
Don't  you  forget  that.  Now  call  me  Miss  Daisy, 
same  as  you  used  to  on  board." 

Mr.  Phillips  blushed. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  73 

"Miss  Daisy,"  he  said,  "how  long  is  it  since  the 
last  king  lived  here  ?" 

"I  don't  know,"  she  said,  "and  I  don't  care. 
Centuries  and  centuries,  I  expect.  Come  and  ex- 
plore, I  want  to  see  the  whole  of  the  palace  and 
let  the  light  and  air  into  every  room." 

She  had  shaken  off  entirely  all  vestiges  of  the 
sense  of  oppression  which  had  come  on  her  when  she 
first  breathed  the  heavy  stale  air  of  the  hall  and 
saw  it  with  its  decayed  furniture,  huge  and  dim 
before  her.  It  was  full  of  sunlight  now  and  she 
was  merry  again  in  the  sunlight  and  fresh  air. 

She  ran  from  room  to  room,  pulling  shutters 
back,  flinging  wide  the  windows.  Phillips  followed 
her,  listened  to  her  while  she  planned  these  for  her 
father's  rooms,  those  for  her  own,  how  breakfast 
should  be  laid  on  summer  mornings  on  a  balcony 
right  over  the  water,  how  midday  meals  should  be 
eaten  in  a  shaded  portico. 

"And  this,"  she  said,  "shall  be  your  room,  for 
you're  to  spend  all  your  holidays  here.  See,  if  you 
open  the  window  you  can  take  a  header  right  into 
the  blue  water — Oh,  isn't  it  a  beautiful  colour? — 
and  have  a  morning  swim." 

Phillips  was  ready  to  take  a  header  from  any 
window  at  the  Queen's  command.  He  would  ask 
nothing  better  than  to  spend,  not  holidays  only, 
but  all  his  days  there  on  the  island  with  her.  If 
he  could  enter  her  service — he  wondered  whether 
the  Queen  of  Salissa  would  start  a  Royal  Navy  of 
her  own. 


74  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

They  passed  from  room  to  room.  They  ran  up 
winding  staircases  and  emerged  in  tiny  turret  cham- 
bers, glass  enclosed  like  the  tops  of  lighthouses. 
They  found  a  roof  garden  set  round  with  huge 
stone  urns  full  of  dry  caked  earth.  Once,  no  doubt, 
flowers  had  bloomed  in  them.  Flowers,  so  the 
Queen  determined,  should  bloom  in  them  again. 
They  descended  to  cool,  spacious  kitchens,  to  cellars 
where  wine  had  been  stored.  They  passed  through 
a  narrow  doorway  and  found  suddenly  that  the 
sea  was  lapping  at  their  feet.  They  were  under- 
neath the  centre  of  the  house.  Around  them  were 
high  walls.  From  the  water  itself  arose  thick 
round  pillars,  supports  of  the  vaulting  on  which 
the  great  hall  rested.  The  light,  entering  for  the 
most  part  through  the  water,  was  blue  and  faint. 
The  stones  beneath  the  water  gleamed  blue.  The 
pillars  as  they  rose  changed  from  blue  to  purple. 
The  water  sighed,  murmured,  almost  moaned.  It 
seemed  as  if  it  tried  to  cling  to  the  smooth  stone 
work,  as  if  it  sank  back  again  disappointed,  weary 
of  for  ever  giving  kisses  which  were  not  returned. 
They  stood  in  silence,  looking,  listening.  Then 
Phillips  spoke.  His  voice  sounded  strangely  hollow. 
He  sank  it  to  a  whisper. 

"Miss  Daisy,"  he  said,  "how  long  is  it  since  the 
last  king  lived  here  ?" 

"Why  do  you  ask  me  that  again?"  she  said. 
"I  don't  know.  A  hundred  years  ago,  perhaps. 
They  killed  him,  you  know.  I  wonder  if  they  threw 
his  body  into  the  sea  there  ?" 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  75 

"Was  it  last  December?" 

"Of  course  not.  How  can  you  be  so  silly?  As 
if  any  one  would  kill  a  king  last  December!  They 
only  did  things  like  that  centuries  ago." 

Phillips  took  from  his  pocket  the  torn  envelope 
he  had  picked  up  in  the  great  hall. 

"Look,"  he  said,  "I  found  that  near  the  fireplace 
in  the  hall  we  went  into  first." 

"It's  an  old  envelope,"  she  said.  "It  must  have 
belonged  to  the  king  they  killed.  How  interesting ! 
Fancy  their  having  had  envelopes  in  those  days !" 

"The  postmark  on  it,"  he  said,  "is  London,  and 
the  date  is  December  15,  1913.  Some  one  was  in 
the  house  since  then,  living  in  it." 

The  Queen  clapped  her  hands. 

"Oh,  splendid,"  she  said.  "A  mystery.  It  was 
the  one  thing  I  longed  for.  A  mystery,  a  ghost,  a 
secret  chamber  and  all  those  beautiful  things.  I 
was  quite  afraid  the  house  was  too  sunny  for 
mystery  until  we  came  down  here.  There  might  be 
anything  here,  in  this  blue  light,  brigands  or  wan- 
dering spirits,  or  the  old  gods  of  the  island.  Now  I 
call  it  just  perfect.  Thank  you  so  much,  Mr. 
Phillips,  for  finding  me  that  paper.  Now  we  can 
just  brood  on  that  brigand.  It  must  have  been  a 
brigand.  Or  do  you  think  the  assassins  came  back, 
driven  by  pangs  of  conscience,  to  the  scene  of  their 
crime,  and  just  dropped  that  envelope  so  as  to 
give  a  clue?  There  always  are  clues,  aren't  there? 
Oh,  I  am  glad  you  found  it." 

As  she  spoke  there  came  a  thin  high  sound,  a 


;6  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

ghostly  wail.  It  echoed  back  from  the  walls,  re- 
peating itself.  The  sound  was  broken  among  the 
pillars,  came  confusedly  to  the  listening  ears.  The 
waters  stirred  uneasily,  sucking  at  the  walls  and 
the  pillars  with  a  kind  of  fierce  intensity.  Her 
hand  sought  his  arm,  caught  it,  held  it  tightly. 

"It's  the  steamer's  syren,"  said  Phillips.  "They 
must  be  signalling." 

She  loosed  her  hold  of  his  arm  and  turned  from 
him. 

"How  can  you  say  such  a  thing?  Just  when  I 
thought  it  was  the  ghost  of  the  murdered  king 
crying  for  vengeance." 

"I  am  sure  they're  signalling  for  us,"  he  said. 
"We'd  better  go." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  Queen,  closely  followed  by  Phillips,  hur- 
ried through  the  cellars,  along  narrow  pas- 
sages, up  a  dozen  different  flights  of  stairs.  They 
lost  themselves  several  times.  Twice  they  arrived 
by  different  routes  at  the  large  central  kitchen. 
Twice  they  left  it  by  different  doors.  They  grew 
hot  with  laughter  and  bewilderment.  Then  they 
heard  the  steamer's  syren  and  grew  hotter  still  with 
impatience.  At  last,  breathless  and  flushed,  they 
reached  the  steps  at  which  they  had  landed. 

Eight  boats  lay  clustered  round  the  steamer. 
One  of  them  was  her  own,  a  heavy  white  boat, 
carvel  built,  with  high  freeboard.  Four  men  sat 
in  her,  resting  on  their  oars.  The  other  seven  were 
island  boats,  gaily  painted  red  and  green,  high 
prowed,  high  sterned.  The  biggest  of  them  had  a 
mast  stepped  right  forward,  a  mast  which  raked 
steeply  aft,  across  which  lay  the  yard  of  a  lateen 
sail.  Six  oarsmen  sat  in  her.  The  other  island 
boats  were  smaller.  There  were  only  two  rowers 
in  each.  They  had  the  same  high  bows  and  high 
sterns  curving  inwards,  the  same  low  freeboard 
amidships  where  the  rowers  sat.  In  them  were 
many  women  and  children. 
77 


78  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

On  the  deck  of  the  Ida  stood  a  little  group  of  men. 
Captain  Wilson's  neat  alert  figure  was  easily  recog- 
nizable. Mr.  Donovan's  white  Panama  hat  was  un- 
mistakable. Phillips  declared  that  the  smaller  man 
who  stood  beside  Mr.  Donovan  was  Smith,  the 
steward.  A  little  apart  from  them  stood  a  tall  bare- 
headed man.  He  had  a  long  white  beard.  There 
seemed  to  be  some  kind  of  consultation  going  on. 
When  the  Queen  and  Phillips  appeared  on  the  steps 
below  the  castle  the  group  on  the  steamer  broke 
up.  Captain  Wilson,  Mr.  Donovan  and  Smith  took 
places  in  the  Ida's  lifeboat.  The  old  man  went  into 
the  largest  of  the  island  boats.  He  stood  in  the 
stern,  his  hand  on  the  carved  end  of  her  huge 
tiller.  The  eight  boats,  tailing  out  in  a  long  pro- 
cession, rowed  slowly  towards  the  castle  steps. 

"They  must  be  your  subjects,"  said  Phillips. 
"They  are  coming  to  swear  allegiance." 

"My!"  said  the  Queen.  "What  shall  I  say? 
What  shall  I  do?  What  will  they  do?  They  can't 
all  kiss  my  hand.  There  must  be  forty  of  them." 

"I  think,"  he  said,  "that  you'd  better  stand  beside 
the  flagstaff.  It's  a  commanding  sort  of  position. 
They'll  have  to  climb  up  the  steps  to  get  to  you. 
I  wish  the  breeze  had  not  died  away.  The  flag 
would  look  ever  so  much  better  if  it  blew  out." 

The  Queen  climbed  the  steps  and  took  her  place 
beneath  the  limp  royal  standard.  Mr.  Phillips  bared 
his  head  and  stood  behind  her. 

The  boats  reached  the  steps.  Mr.  Donovan 
landed.  Smith  stepped  ashore  after  him.  Captain 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  79 

Wilson  bade  his  men  push  off.  He  remained,  a 
critical  observer  of  the  scene,  some  twenty  or  thirty 
yards  from  the  shore. 

"Daisy,"  said  Mr.  Donovan,  "there's  going  to  be 
a  pageant.  The  inhabitants  of  this  island  are  going 
to  demonstrate." 

"How  shall  I  talk  to  them?"  said  the  Queen. 
"What  language  do  they  speak?" 

"Don't  you  fret  any  about  that.  I've  brought 
Smith  along.  Smith  is  the  only  living  Englishman 
who  speaks  the  Megalian  language.  He's  been  ex- 
plaining the  situation  to  the  high  priest  of  the  island 
for  the  last  half -hour  while  we  blew  bugle  calls  on 
the  syren  to  attract  your  attention.  Smith  is  a 
wonderful  man,  worth  any  salary  to  a  firm  with  a 
big  foreign  business." 

Smith  bowed. 

"It's  hardly  a  language,  sir,"  he  said.  "A  dialect, 
a  patois.  Partly  Turkish,  partly  Slavonic,  with  a 
Greek  base." 

"Some  language  that,"  said  Mr  Donovan.  "It 
would  interest  our  college  professors.  If  you  found 
a  university  on  the  island,  Daisy,  you  must  insti- 
tute a  system  of  visiting  lecturers  from  the  colleges 
on  our  side." 

"Oh,  here  they  are!"  said  the  Queen.  "How 
lovely!  Look  at  all  their  bright  dresses.  And  the 
men  are  as  gay  as  the  women.  Oh!  there's  the 
dinkiest  little  baby  with  a  brown  face.  He's  smiling 
at  me.  I  know  I  shall  just  love  them  all,  especially 
the  brown  babies." 


8o  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

The  islanders  were  disembarking  from  their 
boats.  They  crowded  together  on  the  lower  steps 
of  the  staircase  which  led  up  to  the  flagstaff.  They 
talked  rapidly  in  low  voices  and  gazed  with  frank 
curiosity  at  the  little  group  above  them.  Women 
held  babies  high  in  their  arms.  Men  took  up  tod- 
dling children  and  set  them  on  their  shoulders.  Evi- 
dently all,  even  the  youngest,  were  to  have  their 
chance  of  gazing  at  the  new  queen. 

The  old  man  who  had  stood  at  the  tiller  of  the 
leading  boat  disengaged  himself  from  the  crowd. 
He  mounted  the  steps  slowly,  pausing  now  and  then 
to  bow  low.  He  was  a  picturesque  figure.  He 
wore  a  short  black  jacket,  heavily  embroidered  with 
gold  thread.  Underneath  it  was  a  blue  tunic  reach- 
ing to  his  knees.  Round  his  waist  was  a  broad 
crimson  sash.  He  advanced  with  a  grave  dignity. 
Each  bow — and  he  bowed  often — was  an  act  of 
ceremonial  courtesy.  There  was  no  trace  of  ser- 
vility, nor  of  any  special  desire  to  please  or  propi- 
tiate in  his  manner.  He  reached  the  step  below  the 
terrace  on  which  the  flagstaff  stood.  He  bowed  once 
more  and  then  stood  upright,  looking  straight  at  the 
Queen  with  calm,  untroubled  eyes. 

He  spoke  a  few  words  in  a  soft,  low  tone.  Smith 
stepped  forward  to  explain  and  interpret. 

"This  is  Stephanos,"  he  said,  "the  Elder  of 
Salissa." 

"Minister  of  religion?"  said  Donovan. 

"He  acts  as  such,  sir,"  said  Smith,  "at  marriages 
and  such-like  among  his  own  people;  but  I  don't 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  81 

know  that  the  Church  of  England  would  consider 
him  as  a  regular  clergyman.  He  appears  to  be  more 
of  the  nature  of  a  Lord  Mayor  than  an  Arch- 
bishop." 

"What  does  he  say?"  asked  the  Queen. 

"Does  your  Majesty  wish  me  to  translate  liter- 
ally?" 

The  Queen  nodded. 

"I  Stephanos,"  Smith  began,  "elder  of  Salissa 
and  father  of  the  dwellers  on  the  island." 

"Does  he  mean  that  they're  all  his  children?" 
asked  the  Queen,  "even  the  babies?" 

"I  think  not,  your  Majesty,"  said  Smith,  "though 
I  expect  he's  father  or  grandfather  of  half  of 
them." 

"Go  on,"  said  the  Queen. 

"I  Stephanos,  elder  of  Salissa  and  father  of  the 
dwellers  on  the  island,  bid  the  English  lady  welcome. 
All  that  we  have  is  hers." 

"Oh,"  said  the  Queen,  "how  lovely!  But  of 
course  I  won't  take  anything  from  them — tell  him 
that — though  I  would  rather  like  a  brown  baby  to 
play  with,  just  loaned  to  me  for  a  few  hours  every 
day,  and  of  course  I  would  pay  the  mother  whatever 
she  asked." 

"And  you  might  explain,"  said  Donovan,  "that 
we're  American  citizens,  not  English." 

'Til  tell  him,  sir,"  said  Smith,  "but  I  expect  it'll 
be  the  same  thing  to  him." 

Smith  made  a  long  speech.  Apparently  he  failed 
to  make  the  difference  between  an  Englishman  and 


82  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

an  American  clear  to  Stephanos,  but  he  conveyed 
the  Queen's  request  for  a  baby. 

Stephanos'  answer  was  translated  thus : 

"Every  baby  from  three  years  old  and  under 
shall  be  laid  at  the  white  feet  of  the  English  lady 
and  she  shall  take  them  all.  There  are  five  such  on 
the  island.  They  are  hers." 

Stephanos  turned  while  his  speech  was  being 
translated,  and  addressed  his  people.  Apparently 
they  were  quite  prepared  to  fulfil  the  promise  he 
had  made  on  their  behalf.  Five  smiling  young 
women  with  babies  in  their  arms  detached  them- 
selves from  the  crowd.  They  mounted  two  steps 
and  then  stood,  with  bowed  heads,  waiting  for  the 
next  command. 

"The  darlings,"  said  the  Queen.  "But  I  don't 
want  them  all  laid  at  my  feet.  They'd  be  sure  to 
roll  away  and  fall  into  the  sea.  Tell  them  to- 
morrow will  be  time  enough,  and — and  I'd  like 
mothers  to  come  too.  I'm  not  sure  that  I  could 
manage  a  baby  all  by  myself." 

She  did  not  wait  for  Smith  to  translate  this 
speech.  She  ran  down  the  steps  to  where  the  five 
young  women  stood.  She  took  one  of  the  babies  in 
her  arms.  She  kissed  another.  The  women  stood 
round  her,  smiling  shyly.  The  babies  cooed  and 
gurgled.  She  kissed  them  all,  and  took  them  one 
after  another  in  her  arms.  She  sat  down  on  the 
steps  and  laid  a  crowing  baby  on  her  lap.  The 
mothers  smiled  and  drew  nearer  to  her.  Other 
women  from  the  crowd  below  gathered  round  her. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  83 

Their  shyness  disappeared  completely,  too  com- 
pletely.  They  stroked  her  hair.  They  patted  her 
face  and  hands.  They  were  filled  with  curiosity 
about  her  clothes.  They  felt  the  texture  of  her 
dress,  fingered  the  brooch  she  wore,  knelt  down  and 
took  her  feet  into  their  hands  that  they  might 
examine  her  shoes.  They  explored  the  clocks  on 
her  stockings.  Miss  Daisy — no  queen  for  the  mo- 
ment— was  seriously  embarrassed.  She  jumped  to 
her  feet,  thrust  the  baby  she  held  into  its  mother's 
arms. 

"You  mustn't  pull  my  clothes  off  altogether,"  she 
said. 

She  smoothed  her  skirt  down  with  her  hands  and 
brushed  exploring  fingers  from  her  blouse.  But  the 
island  women  were  not  easily  repulsed.  They  were 
ready  to  give  their  babies  to  her  if  she  asked  for 
them.  They  would  not  forgo  if  they  could  help  it 
the  delight  of  examining  new  and  fascinating  kinds 
of  clothes.  Miss  Daisy — still  Miss  Daisy,  not  a 
queen — burst  from  them  and  ran,  with  tossed  hair 
and  ruffled  garments,  up  the  steps  again. 

"Oh,  Smith,"  she  said,  "tell  them  that  they 
mustn't  do  it.  I'm  sure  they  don't  mean  any  harm, 
but  I  can't  bear  to  be  pulled  about." 

Smith  translated ;  but  it  is  doubtful  if  the  women 
understood  or  even  heard.  There  was  a  babble  of 
soft  voices.  They  were  discussing  eagerly  the 
strange  garments  of  the  English  lady. 

Stephanos  spoke  again,  gravely,  gently. 

"It  is  in  my  mind,"  so  Smith  translated,  "that 


84  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

one  of  our  daughters  should  be  the  servant  of  the 
English  lady;  seeing  that  she  has  no  maidens  of 
her  own  people  round  about  her.  Kalliope  is  the 
fairest  and  the  deftest.  If  it  be  the  good  pleasure 
of  the  English  lady  Kalliope  shall  serve  her  day 
and  night,  doing  in  all  things  the  bidding  of  the 
Queen  wherein  if  Kalliope  fail  by  one  hair's  breadth 
of  perfect  service,  I,  Stephanos  the  elder,  her  grand- 
sire,  will  beat  her  with  pliant  rods  fresh  cut  from 
the  osier  trees  until  the  blood  of  full  atonement 
flows  from  her." 

"My !"  said  the  Queen.  "After  that  I  shan't  dare 
say  a  word  to  Kalliope  even  if  she  steals  the  last 
hairpin  I  own." 

"Tell  that  high  priest,"  said  Donovan,  "that  I 
admire  his  loyalty.  He  may  trot  out  the  young 
woman.  You  must  have  a  maid  of  some  sort, 
Daisy,  and  I  expect  Kalliope  will  do  her  darned- 
est with  that  threat  hanging  over  her." 

Stephanos  the  elder  was  an  old  gentleman  of 
quick  apprehension.  He  did  not  wait  for  Smith 
to  translate  what  Donovan  said.  He  turned  to  the 
women  crowded  below  him.  He  raised  one  hand. 
Their  babbling  ceased  at  once.  Through  the  silence 
Stephanos  the  elder  spoke. 

"Kalliope." 

A  young  girl,  perhaps  eighteen  or  nineteen  years 
of  age,  came  forward.  Bowing  low  at  each  step 
she  mounted,  she  climbed  slowly  towards  the  flag- 
staff. Her  bowing  suggested  profound  humility, 
but  her  eyes,  when  she  raised  them,  sparkled,  and 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  85 

her  lips  were  parted  in  a  gay  smile.  She  was 
evidently  in  no  fear  of  an  immediate  beating  with 
fresh-cut  osier  rods.  Yet  Kalliope  had  some  cause 
to  be  afraid.  .It  was  she  who  had  endeavoured  to 
explore  to  their  source  the  clocks  on  the  Queen's 
stockings'. 

Stephanos  the  elder  spoke  to  her  briefly  but 
very  solemnly.  Kalliope  remained  unimpressed. 
She  took  quick  glances  at  the  Queen's  face  and  her 
eyes  were  full  of  laughter  and  delight.  Stephanos 
took  her  by  the  hand,  led  her  forward  and  formally 
presented  her  to  the  Queen.  Kalliope  immediately 
fell  on  her  knees  and  kissed  the  toes  of  the  Queen's 
shoes. 

"Tell  the  high  priest,"  said  Donovan,  "that  I'll 
pay  the  girl  the  same  wages  that  I  undertook  to 
give  to  the  pampered  English  maid  who  went  on 
strike  this  morning." 

Kalliope  completed  her  obeisance  and  realized  al- 
most at  once  that  she  had  won  the  position  of 
lady's  maid  to  the  Queen.  She  took  her  place 
meekly  behind  her  mistress.  There  she  stood  smil- 
ing at  her  sisters  and  cousins  who  stood  below.  She 
was  at  the  moment  the  most  fortunate,  the  most 
envied  young  woman  on  the  island.  Hers  would 
be  the  inexpressible  joy  of  examining  at  her  leisure 
all  the  wonderful  clothes  worn  or  possessed  by  the 
Queen.  She  realized  this;  but  neither  she  nor 
any  other  woman  on  the  island  guessed,  or,  by  the 
wildest  flight,  could  have  imagined,  how  many  and 
how  various  were  the  garments  packed  by  the  Eng- 


86  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

lish  maid  into  the  trunks  which  lay  in  the  steamer's 
hold. 

Kalliope  was  never  beaten  by  her  grandfather 
with  osier  rods.  She  devoted  herself  utterly  to  the 
service  of  the  Queen.  The  only  fault  that  could  be 
found  with  her  was  that  her  devotion  was  too 
complete,  her  service  too  untiring.  At  meals  she 
stood  behind  the  Queen's  chair.  During  the  day 
she  followed  the  Queen  from  room  to  room.  She 
would  stand  silent  in  a  corner  for  an  hour  waiting 
while  her  mistress  read  or  talked.  There  was  no 
escaping  from  the  girl.  At  night  she  slept  on  the 
floor  at  the  end  of  the  Queen's  bed,  wrapped  in  a 
rug,  her  head  pillowed  on  her  own  arm.  She  was 
quick  to  learn  what  was  wanted,  and  acquired, 
after  a  while,  an  uncanny  power  of  anticipating  the 
Queen's  wishes. 


CHAPTER  IX 

NEXT  morning  the  work  of  unloading  the  ship 
began.    It  went  on  at  high  pressure  for  three 
days.    On  the  fourth  it  slackened.    Before  the  end 
of  the  week  everything  was  landed. 

The  donkey  engine  on  the  Ida's  fore-deck  clanked 
and  snorted.  Down  in  the  hold  the  sweating  sailors 
toiled.  Packing-cases,  great  and  small,  huge  bales 
and  brass-studded  trunks  were  hoisted  high,  swung 
clear  of  the  ship's  bulwarks  and  lowered,  with 
much  rattling  of  chains  and  gear,  into  the  waiting 
boats.  The  ship's  lifeboats  and  the  five  largest 
of  the  island  boats  plied  to  and  fro  between  the 
steamer  and  the  shore.  On  the  palace  steps, 
islanders — men,  women  and  children — waited  to 
take  charge  of  the  cargoes  which  the  boats  brought. 
Captain  Wilson  was  in  command  on  board  the  Ida. 
On  shore  Mr.  Phillips  directed  the  unpacking.  He 
had  the  cases  and  bales  hauled  up  the  flagstaff 
terrace.  There  they  were  prised  or  cut  open. 
Tables,  chairs,  carpets,  beds,  bedding,  every  article 
of  household  furniture  were  unpacked  and  carried 
into  the  rooms  of  the  palace.  The  islanders  worked 
willingly.  Only  when  they  set  down  a  load  in  its 
appointed  place,  a  tall  mirror  perhaps  or  a  wardrobe, 
they  stood  in  a  group  around  it,  admiring,  wonder- 
87 


88  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

ing.  Often  Mr.  Phillips  had  to  pursue  them,  drag 
them,  push  them,  to  induce  them  to  return  for  some 
new  burden. 

Smith,  the  steward,  worked  with  amazing  energy. 
Very  early  on  the  first  day  of  the  unloading,  Phillips 
found  him  in  the  large  hall  of  the  palace.  He  was 
sweeping  up  the  hearth.  He  had  already  gathered 
and  burnt  the  litter  of  torn  papers  which  lay  on  the 
floor.  It  was  a  natural  act  in  a  good  servant; 
but  it  seemed  to  Phillips  a  waste  of  energy.  Smith 
apologized  at  once. 

"Yes,  sir,  as  you  say,  sir,  it'll  be  time  enough  to 
clean  up  when  we  get  things  a  bit  settled.  Perhaps 
I  oughtn't  to  have  done  it,  sir.  But  it  seemed  to  me 
as  how  I'd  like  to  clear  away  the  mess,  sir,  when  her 
Majesty  would  be  passing  through  the  room." 

Phillips  was  annoyed.  The  torn  papers  had  in- 
terested him.  He  intended  to  have  collected  them 
all.  But  Smith,  with  ill-directed  zeal,  had  burnt 
them.  Not  a  scrap  was  left,  except  the  torn  envelope 
which  Phillips  had  in  his  pocket. 

Afterwards  Smith  proved  most  useful.  He  acted 
as  interpreter  on  shore  or  aboard  whenever  an 
interpreter  was  wanted.  He  was  active  in  the 
opening  of  packing-cases,  careful  and  skilful  in 
handling  glass  and  china.  He  planned  store-rooms 
for  the  provisions  which  came  ashore,  arranged  the 
wine  in  cool  cellars,  had  linen  packed  away  securely. 

The  Queen  ran  eagerly  from  room  to  room.  The 
arrival  of  each  piece  of  furniture  was  afresh  joy  to 
her.  She  kidnapped  small  parties  of  women  from 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  89 

among  Phillips'  workers  and  set  them  to  laying 
carpets  or  hanging  curtains,  explaining  what  had 
to  be  done  by  means  of  vivid  gestures.  She  moved 
things  which  seemed  comfortably  settled  from  room 
to  room.  Whenever  she  came  across  Smith  or  met 
Phillips  she  talked  excitedly  about  colour  schemes. 
She  spent  a  good  deal  of  time  in  rescuing  the  brown 
babies  from  peril.  The  mothers,  determined  to  miss 
no  chance  of  handling  strange  and  wonderful  things, 
laid  their  infants  down  in  all  sorts  of  odd  places, 
behind  doors  or  in  corners  at  tops  of  staircases. 
The  Queen  tripped  over  them  occasionally,  went  all 
the  time  in  terror  that  one  of  them  would  be 
crushed  by  passing  feet. 

Kalliope  was  deliriously  happy.  She  was  a 
quick-witted  girl.  Very  early  in  the  day  she 
grasped  the  fact  that  packing-cases  never  contained 
clothes ;  that  trunks  might  or  might  not,  but  gener- 
ally did.  She  learned  almost  at  once  four  English 
words  from  the  sailors — "damned  box"  and 
"bloody  trunk."  Armed  with  the  full  authority 
of  maid  in  waiting  to  the  Queen,  she  stood  beside 
the  boats  when  they  arrived.  With  a  gesture  of 
contempt  she  committed  each  "damned  box"  to  the 
care  of  the  men  and  the  less  favoured  women. 
She  took  possession  of  all  personal  luggage.  Only 
her  special  friends  were  allowed  to  handle  the 
Queen's  trunks.  She  put  herself  in  command  of 
four  girls,  and  marched  in  front  of  them  as  they 
staggered  under  the  weight  of  great  trunks.  She 
had  them  carried  up  to  the  Queen's  rooms.  Then 


90  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

with  joyful  cries  of  "Bloody  trunk,  bloody  trunk," 
she  ran  through  the  palace  seeking  her  mistress  and 
the  keys.  Kalliope  unpacked  all  the  clothes  herself. 
Not  even  the  most  favoured  of  her  helpers  was 
allowed  to  touch  a  garment.  It  was  enough  for 
the  others  to  gaze. 

Mr.  Donovan  took  no  part  whatever  in  the  un- 
loading of  the  ship  or  the  unpacking  on  the  island. 
He  said  frankly  that  he  disliked  fuss  intensely, 
and  that  the  weather  was  far  too  hot  for  movement 
of  any  kind.  He  added  to  Captain  Wilson — it 
seemed  necessary  to  excuse  himself  to  Captain 
Wilson — that  the  action  of  his  heart  always  became 
more  disordered  if  he  mixed  himself  up  with  people 
who  suffered  from  activity.  The  deck  of  the  Ida 
was  no  place  for  him.  The  cabins  were  stuffy 
and  the  clamour  of  the  donkey  engine  made  him 
restless.  He  went  ashore.  Smith,  who  was  a 
wonderfully  sympathetic  man,  led  him  to  a  high 
balcony,  well  shaded,  pleasantly  airy.  There  Mr. 
Donovan  established  himself  on  a  deck  chair.  He 
smoked  a  great  deal  and  slept  a  little.  He  drank 
the  cocktails  which  Smith  found  time  to  prepare 
for  him.  He  ate  the  food  Smith  brought  up  to  him. 
He  found  Salissa  a  pleasant  island  and  looked 
forward  to  great  peace,  when  the  Ida,  her  cargo 
unloaded,  should  sail  away.  He  had  only  one  real 
trouble.  Not  even  Smith  could  find  ice  on  Salissa. 
Mr.  Donovan  sighed  over  his  own  want  of  fore- 
sight. The  patent  freezer  had  been  packed  in  the 
very  bottom  of  the  hold. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  9! 

Early  in  the  third  day  the  Queen  tired  of  unpack- 
ing- and  arranging  furniture.  The  excitement  of 
running  to  and  fro  through  the  rooms  of  the  palace 
faded.  The  merriment  which  came  of  seeing 
kitchen  chairs  placed  in  her  bedroom  palled.  She 
began  to  feel  that  Mr.  Phillips  would  never  fully 
understand  the  beauty  and  value  of  a  colour  scheme. 
Her  clothes  were  all  safely  gathered,  unpacked  and 
stored  away  in  fragrant  heaps.  She  wanted  rest 
from  the  ceaseless  laughter  of  the  islanders  and  the 
noise  of  pattering  bare  feet. 

"Kalliope,"  she  said,  "we'll  go  for  a  row." 

Kalliope  smiled  joyously.  "Go  row,"  she  re- 
peated. She  had  not  the  faintest  idea  what  the 
thing  meant,  but  life  was  for  her  a  passing  from  one 
rapturous  experience  to  another.  "Go  row"  was 
no  doubt  some  untried  pleasure.  She  stood  smiling, 
waiting  further  enlightenment. 

The  Queen  made  the  motions  of  a  rower  with  her 
arms.  Kalliope,  pathetically  eager  to  understand, 
repeated,  "Go  row,  go  row." 

The  Queen  led  her  to  a  window  and  pointed  to 
one  of  the  island  boats  which  had  just  left  the 
steamer.  She  went  through  the  pantomime  of  row- 
ing again.  She  touched  her  own  breast  with  her 
forefinger,  then  Kalliope's.  The  girl  understood. 
She  ran  from  the  room,  through  passages,  down 
steps.  She  reached  the  landing  place. 

"Go  row,"  she  cried. 

Then,  condescending  to  the  language  of  her 
people,  she  spoke  to  the  men  who  sat  in  one  of  the 


92  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

smaller  island  boats.  In  obedience  to  her  command 
they  stepped  on  shore.  They  gave  their  coats 
and  their  coloured  sashes  to  the  girl.  She  piled 
them  in  the  stern,  a  cushion  for  her  mistress.  She 
took  the  oars.  The  Queen  came  down  the  steps, 
carrying  in  her  arms  one  of  the  brown  babies.  She 
had  tripped  over  it  at  the  end  of  the  passage  leading 
from  her  room.  She  sat  on  the  cushion  prepared  for 
her  with  the  baby  on  her  knees.  Kalliope  rowed 
out  across  the  harbour. 

That  night  the  Queen  slept  for  the  first  time  in 
her  new  palace.  A  bed  had  been  arranged  for  her, 
and  she  was  eager  to  leave  the  small  close  cabin  on 
the  ship.  The  great  room  she  had  chosen  for 
herself  attracted  her.  She  thought  of  the  cool 
night  air  blowing  in  through  the  window,  of  the 
wide  balcony  on  which  she  could  sit  awhile  till 
sleepiness  came  over  her.  No  other  room  in  the 
palace  was  ready  for  use.  Nor  did  Mr.  Donovan 
seem  anxious  to  go  ashore. 

Mr.  Phillips  was  a  lover.  He  was  also  a  young 
man.  He  reverenced  the  lady  who  was  mistress  of 
his  heart  and  queen.  He  also,  as  is  the  way  of 
lovers  very  much  in  love,  suffered  from  a  conviction 
that  she  ought  to  be  guarded  and  protected.  It 
seemed  to  him  wrong  that  she,  with  no  other  com- 
panion than  Kalliope,  should  sleep  in  a  great  lonely 
house  on  an  island  where  strange  people  lived. 
Thus  young  men,  the  best  of  them,  show  contempt 
for  the  courage  and  ability  of  the  women  they 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  93 

admire.  The  Queen  herself  laughed  at  his  fears. 
Mr.  Donovan  rebuked  him. 

"Your  notions  about  girls,"  he  said,  "are  Euro- 
pean. You  take  it  from  me,  young  man,  that  an 
American  girl  knows  how  to  take  care  of  herself. 
Daisy  can  go  without  a  leading  rein.  She  can 
take  hold  on  any  situation  likely  to  arise." 

No  situation  was  in  the  least  likely  to  arise. 
It  was  impossible  to  suspect  the  gentle  islanders  of 
wishing  any  harm  to  their  new  queen.  There  were 
no  wild  animals,  no  animals  at  all,  except  a  dog  or 
two  and  some  small  cattle. 

Phillips  was  a  lover  and  therefore  a  prey  to 
anxiety ;  but  he  was  a  healthy  young  man  and  had 
worked  hard  all  day.  He  turned  into  his  berth 
and  went  to  sleep  at  once.  Very  early  in  the 
morning,  about  three  o'clock,  he  awoke.  Nor,  for 
all  his  twistings  and  turnings,  would  sleep  come  to 
him  again.  His  imagination,  picturing  a  hundred 
impossible  dangers  for  the  Queen,  tormented  him. 
Suddenly  he  remembered  the  torn  envelope  which 
lay  in  his  pocket.  He  puzzled  himself  to  find  some 
explanation  of  its  being  on  the  island,  in  the  palace. 
Some  one  must  have  brought  it  there.  Some  one 
sitting  in  the  great  hall  had  read  the  letter  that 
envelope  contained.  Some  one  with  assuredly  no 
right  to  be  there,  some  one — the  inference  seemed 
inevitable — with  evil  in  his  heart  had  entered  the 
palace  and  dwelt  there. 

Phillips  could  stand  his  imaginings  no  more.  He 
got  up,  dressed  himself  and  went  on  deck. 


94  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

The  man  who  kept — or  was  supposed  to  keep — 
the  anchor  watch  lay  fast  asleep,  coiled  up  under  the 
shadow  of  the  bridge.  The  ship  was  silent  save  for 
the  lapping  of  the  water  against  her  sides.  The 
island  lay,  a  grey  mystery  in  the  half  light  of  earliest 
dawn.  The  light  increased,  and  Phillips,  standing 
in  the  shadow  of  the  deck-house,  could  fix  his  eyes 
on  the  windows  of  the  room  where  the  Queen  lay. 
He  heard,  suddenly,  the  splash  of  oars,  dipped  very 
gently  in  the  water.  He  looked  round  and  saw  a 
boat,  one  of  the  island  boats,  moving  from  the 
ship's  side.  There  was  one  man  in  her,  Smith  the 
steward.  Phillips  reasoned  quickly.  Smith  must 
have  left  his  cabin  stealthily,  must  have  come  on 
deck,  must  have  dropped  on  board  the  boat  and 
cast  her  loose  without  making  a  sound.  What  was 
he  doing  ?  What  did  he  want  ? 

Phillips,  deep  in  the  shadow  of  the  deck-house, 
stood  and  watched.  The  boat  moved  more  quickly 
as  she  drew  further  from  the  steamer.  She  headed 
for  the  sandy  beach  below  the  village.  A  man 
stood  on  the  shore  awaiting  her.  The  light  grew 
brighter  every  moment.  Phillips  recognized  the 
waiting  man — Stephanos  the  elder.  His  long  white 
beard  and  stately  figure  were  not  easily  mistaken. 
The  boat  grounded  and  Stephanos  stepped  on  board. 
Smith  pushed  off,  and  rowing  rapidly  now,  coasted 
the  shore  of  the  bay,  keeping  close  inland.  The 
boat  was  hard  to  see,  for  she  moved  in  the  shadow 
of  the  cliffs.  Suddenly  she  disappeared  altogether. 
Phillips  waited  and  watched.  In  half  an  hour  the 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  95 

boat  appeared  again,  plainly  visible  now.  She  came 
from  the  mouth  of  a  great  cave,  a  darker  space 
in  the  grey  face  of  the  cliff.  Smith  pulled  hard. 
In  a  few  minutes  he  had  landed  Stephanos  and  was 
on  his  way  back  to  the  steamer. 

Phillips  met  him  as  he  climbed  the  side  and  came 
on  board. 

"You're  out  early  this  morning,  Smith,"  he  said. 

"Yes,  sir,  pretty  early,  sir.  There's  a  lot  to  be 
done  in  the  day.  I  thought  as  how,  if  I  went  ashore, 
sir,  I  might  get  a  couple  of  eggs  for  Mr.  Donovan's 
breakfast.  He  likes  a  fresh  egg." 

"Seagulls'  eggs,"  said  Phillips. 

Smith  looked  up  quickly.  For  an  instant  there 
was  a  sharp  gleam  of  suspicion  in  his  eyes.  Then 
he  dropped  them  again. 

"No,  sir;  hens'  eggs.  There's  hens  on  the  island, 
sir." 

"Got  any?"  said  Phillips. 

"Two,  sir,  only  two." 

He  took  them  from  his  pocket  as  he  spoke  and 
held  them  out  for  inspection.  He  had  certainly 
got  two  eggs.  Phillips  was  puzzled.  Men  seldom 
search  for  hens'  eggs — they  never  find  them — in  sea 
caves. 

"Just  enough  for  Mr.  Donovan's  breakfast,  sir." 

"Do  you  happen  to  know,  Smith" — Phillips  asked 
his  question  abruptly — "whether  any  one  has  been 
living  in  the  palace  lately  ?  Last  year,  for  instance, 
or  at  any  time  since  the  last  king  was  murdered 
there?" 


96  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"Murdered,  sir,  how  horrible !  Was  it  long  ago, 
sir?" 

The  assassination  of  King  Otto  had  been  men- 
tioned, even  discussed,  a  dozen  times  while  Smith 
was  waiting  at  table.  Very  good  servants — and 
Smith  was  one  of  the  best — are  able,  it  is  believed, 
to  abstract  their  minds  from  the  conversation  of 
their  masters,  will  actually  hear  nothing  of  what  is 
said  in  their  presence.  Yet  it  seemed  to  Phillips 
as  if  Smith  were  overdoing  his  pose  of  ignorance. 

"It  was  years  ago,  I  believe.  What  I  want  to 
know  is  whether  any  one  has  been  living  in  the 
palace  since." 

"Don't  know,  sir,  I'm  sure.  Never  been  here  be- 
fore till  I  arrived  with  you,  sir.  Would  you  care  for 
me  to  make  inquiries?  Some  of  the  natives  would 
be  sure  to  know." 

"Ask  that  patriarch,"  said  Phillips,  "Stephanos 
or  whatever  he's  called.  Ask  him  next  time  you 
take  him  out  for  a  row  at  six  o'clock  in  the 
morning." 

He  knew  that  he  had  startled  Smith  once  when  he 
referred  to  the  seagulls'  eggs.  He  hoped  to  take 
him  off  his  guard  this  time  by  showing  that  he  had 
watched  the  whole  of  the  morning  row.  But  this 
time  Smith  was  not  to  be  caught.  He  made  no 
sign  whatever  that  anything  unexpected  had  been 
said.  He  was  not  looking  at  Phillips.  His  eyes 
were  fixed  on  the  palace. 

"I  beg  pardon,  sir,"  he  said  after  a  slight  pause, 
"but  perhaps  we  ought  to  leave  the  deck,  to  go 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  97 

below.  Seems  to  me,  sir,  that  the  Queen  is  going 
to  bathe.  She  mightn't  like  it,  sir,  if  she  thought 
we  were  here  watching  her." 

The  Queen  was  descending  steps  clad  in  a  scarlet 
bathing  dress.  It  is  not  likely  that  she  would 
have  resented  the  presence  of  spectators  on  the  deck 
of  a  steamer  nearly  half  a  mile  distant.  Nor,  in- 
deed, is  it  likely  that  Kalliope  would  have  been 
seriously  embarrassed,  though  she  saw  no  sense  in 
wearing  clothes  of  any  kind  when  she  intended  to 
bathe.  But  Mr.  Phillips  was  a  young  man  and 
modest.  One  fleeting  glimpse  of  Kalliope  poised 
ready  for  her  plunge  was  sufficient  for  him.  He 
turned  and  left  the  deck.  Smith  was  already 
with  his  cooking. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  peculiarity  of  Smith's  proceedings  highly 
stimulated  the  curiosity  of  Mr.  Phillips.  The 
envelope  in  his  pocket  helped  him  to  the  belief 
that  he  held  the  clue  of  an  exciting  mystery.  He 
pondered  the  matter  while  he  shaved.  He  was  dull 
company  at  breakfast  because  he  could  not  get  it 
out  of  his  head.  He  made  up  his  mind  at  last  to 
confide  his  vague  suspicions  to  Mr.  Donovan.  This 
was  a  difficult  decision  to  arrive  at.  He  would 
have  much  preferred  to  unravel  his  mystery  himself, 
to  go  to  the  Queen  with  evidence  completely  suffi- 
cient to  condemn  a  whole  band  of  conspirators. 
But  he  saw  no  chance  of  getting  any  further  in 
his  investigations.  Smith's  morning  expedition  re- 
mained obstinately  unconnected  with  the  torn  en- 
velope. A  sense  of  loyalty  to  his  employers  com- 
bined with  devotion  to  the  Queen  decided  him  to 
tell  Mr.  Donovan  all  he  knew. 

The  work  of  unloading  the  Ida  went  on  briskly 
all  the  morning.  Mr.  Donovan  sat,  remote  from 
the  turmoil,  on  his  balcony.  Mr.  Phillips,  seeking 
a  moment  when  Smith  was  busy  elsewhere,  climbed 
to  the  balcony.  Mr.  Donovan  welcomed  him. 
98 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  99 

"Sit  right  down,"  he  said.  "There's  another 
chair  knocking  about  somewhere.  Take  a  cigar." 

Mr.  Phillips  hauled  a  deck  chair  from  the  sun- 
shine into  the  shade  and  stood  leaning  over  the  back 
of  it. 

"This  island,"  said  Mr.  Donovan,  "seems  likely 
to  be  restful.  Once  we're  through  with  the  job  of 
landing  our  trunks  we  shall  be  able  to  settle  down 
and  just  stay  put.  I  don't  say  but  it's  pleasant  for 
a  man  like  me  who's  worked  some  in  his  time  to 
sit  here  and  watch  other  people  sweating " 

He  waved  his  hand  towards  the  islanders,  who 
staggered  up  the  steps  under  their  loads.  He  in- 
cluded with  a  sweeping  gesture  two  boats  which  had 
just  left  the  ship's  side.  The  day  was  exceedingly 
hot.  All  these  men  were  certainly  sweating.  The 
clanking  and  rattling  of  the  donkey  engines  were 
plainly  audible  across  the  water.  The  engineman 
was  probably  sweating  too.  Captain  Wilson,  stand- 
ing erect  in  the  full  blaze  of  the  sun  on  the  steamer's 
fore-deck,  cannot  possibly  have  been  cool.  Mr. 
Donovan  sighed  with  satisfaction. 

"I  don't  deny  that  it's  pleasant,"  he  said,  "kind 
of  aggravates  the  sense  of  restfulness ;  but  for  real 
calm  give  me  a  country  where  nobody  works  at  all. 
That's  what  I  am  looking  forward  to.  That's  why 
I  reckon  this  island  is  going  to  suit  me." 

"Mr.  Donovan,"  said  Phillips,  "there's  a  matter 
I  want  to  speak  to  you  about.  I  daresay  there'? 
nothing  in  it ;  but  I  can't  help  feeling " 


ioo  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

Mr.  Phillips'  hand  went  to  his  breast  pocket. 
He  clutched  the  torn  envelope. 

"Here's  something  I  picked  up  the  day  before 
yesterday,"  he  said. 

Smith  stepped  suddenly  between  him  and  Mr. 
Donovan.  Smith  was  a  hard  worker,  and  a  loud 
shouter  when  shouting  was  desirable.  He  was  also, 
as  Phillips  knew,  a  quiet  mover  when  he  chose. 
He  held  a  tray  in  his  hand  with  two  glasses  on  it. 
He  handed  one  to  Mr.  Donovan  and  the  other  to 
Phillips. 

"Beg  pardon,  sir,"  he  said,  "but  there's  some 
cases  of  books  come  ashore,  sir.  .1  thought  you'd 
like  to  arrange  about  them  yourself,  sir,  seeing  as 
how  I  don't  understand  libraries." 

He  spoke  to  Phillips.  He  did  not  expect  Mr. 
Donovan  to  arrange  anything. 

"You're  young,  Phillips,"  said  Mr.  Donovan. 
"According  to  the  prophets  and  other  wise  men 
it's  a  good  thing  to  be  young.  I'm  getting  on  for 
sixty,  but  there  are  compensations.  I  don't  feel 
called  on  to  see  after  things.  I  don't  have  to  toil 
any.  Smith!" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"There  exist  in  the  U.  S.  A.  more  than  two 
hundred  formulae  for  the  compounding  of  cocktails. 
They  vary  from  the  simple  dry  Martini  to  the  more 
poetic  Angel's  Smile.  How  many  of  them  do  you 
know,  Smith?" 

"About  eight,  sir,  eight  or  ten." 

"Few  men,  except  professional  bar-tenders,  know 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  101 

more,"  said  Mr.  Donovan.  "But  you  can  learn. 
I  see  before  you,  Smith,  years  of  artistic  endeavour. 
Eight  from  two  hundred  leave  a  hundred  and 
ninety-two.  I  think  I  have  a  book  containing  the 
formulas.  It  was  compiled  by  one  of  our  leading 
citizens  after  a  term  of  residence  in  a  dry  State. 
I  shall  give  you  the  book,  Smith.  My  digestion  re- 
mains unimpaired  up  to  date.  I  shall  sample  the 
results  of  your  labours." 

Mr.  Phillips  swallowed  his  cocktail  and  went 
away  without  saying  any  more  about  the  torn  en- 
velope. He  had  no  intention  of  telling  his  story  in 
the  presence  of  Smith. 

He  tried  again  an  hour  later.  He  calculated  on 
not  being  interrupted  this  time.  Smith  had  gone 
off  to  the  steamer.  From  time  to  time  he  had  to 
go  to  the  steamer  to  act  as  interpreter  there.  Cap- 
tain Wilson  seemed  curiously  incapable  of  making 
himself  understood  by  the  islanders. 

"That  you  again,  Mr.  Phillips,"  said  Donovan. 
"Sit  down.  Take  a  cigar  and  sit  down." 

"There's  something  I  want  to  speak  to  you  about, 
sir,"  said  Phillips. 

"If  you  must  speak,"  said  Donovan,  "I  hope 
you'll  sort  of  murmur.  That  engine  has  stopped 
clanking  for  a  moment  and  Smith  isn't  shouting 
any  at  those  poor  devils  of  islanders.  'Silence,' 
says  the  poet,  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  'like  a  poul- 
tice came  to  heal  the  wound  of  sound.'  It's  a  kind 
of  advanced  sample  of  what  this  island's  going  to 
be." 


102  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

This  was  not  encouraging  to  Mr.  Phillips.  He 
hesitated.  Far  away,  under  the  shadow  of  the 
cliffs,  a  small  boat  moved  slowly.  In  it  was  the 
Queen,  seated  in  the  stern  with  a  huge  box  of  choco- 
lates in  her  lap.  Kalliope  rowed,  her  mouth  full 
of  chocolates.  Phillips  could  not  see  the  box  or 
Kalliope's  mouth.  The  boat  was  too  far  away  for 
that.  But  he  knew  the  chocolates  were  there. 
Early  in  the  day  the  Queen  had  come  to  him  and 
demanded  candies.  She  had  come  at  a  fortunate 
moment.  He  was  in  the  act  of  opening  a  large 
case,  sent  out,  so  the  label  declared,  by  Fuller, 
and  Kalliope  had  carried  down  to  the  boat  a  huge 
box  of  chocolates.  It  was  the  sight  of  that  boat — • 
perhaps,  too,  the  thought  of  the  chocolates — which 
spurred  Mr.  Phillips  to  tell  his  tale  in  spite  of  all 
discouragement.  Is  there  anything  which  is  more 
eloquent  of  innocent  helplessness,  anything  which 
makes  a  stronger  appeal  to  the  protective  instinct 
of  a  man,  than  the  vision  of  two  girls  eating 
chocolates  ? 

"The  day  I  first  landed,  sir,"  he  said,  "I  found 
this." 

He  handed  the  torn  envelope  to  Mr.  Donovan. 

"The  postmark,  sir,"  he  said,  "is  London,  De- 
cember 15,  1913.  Now  how  do  you  think  it  got 
here?" 

Donovan  looked  at  the  envelope  curiously.  He 
turned  it  over,  felt  the  texture  of  it  with  his  fingers. 
At  last  he  spoke. 

"Mr.  Phillips,"  he  said,  "I  may  be  wrong  in  my 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  103 

interpretation  of  facts.  I  don't  know  that  any 
recognized  minister  of  religion  would  support  me; 
but  it's  my  belief  that  if  Eve  hadn't  stirred  that 
serpent  up,  kind  of  annoyed  him  by  poking  round, 
the  creature  would  have  lain  quiet  enough  and 
there'd  have  been  no  trouble  about  the  apple.  That's 
the  nature  of  snakes.  I've  seen  quite  a  few  and 
I  know.  Now  this  island  is  about  the  nearest  thing 
to  a  real  restful  paradise  that  I've  bumped  into 
since  I  first  started  my  pilgrimage  through  this 
vale  of  tears.  I  don't  say  there's  no  snakes  in  it. 
There  may  be.  But  my  notion  is  to  let  those  snakes 
lie  unless  they  start  in  molesting  me." 

"But,"  said  Mr.  Phillips,  "there  must  have  been 
somebody  in  the  house  here,  somebody  who  had  no 
right  to  be  in  it.  Otherwise  how  would  that  en- 
velope with  the  London  postmark " 

"The  British  nation,"  said  Donovan,  "is  at  the 
present  moment  exciting  itself  quite  a  bit  about  the 
effect  of  the  Movies — what  you  call  cinemas  your 
side — on  the  minds  of  the  young.  What  your  lead- 
ing reformers  say  is  that  it  upsets  the  budding  intel- 
lect of  the  rising  generation  to  present  life  to  it 
as  life  is  not.  As  a  general  rule  I'm  not  much 
taken  up  with  eminent  reformers.  They're  a  class 
of  citizens  I  don't  admire,  though  I  admit  they 
have  their  uses  in  supplying  loftiness  of  view  and 
generally  keeping  up  the  more  serious  kinds  of 
charm  practised  by  the  female  sex.  But  in  the 
matter  of  the  effect  of  movies  on  the  young  mind 
those  reformers  may  be  right.  It  seems  to  me 


104  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

you've  gathered  in  some  foolish  notions  about  life, 
Mr.  Phillips.  Desperate  villains  dropping  envelopes 
and  generally  scattering  clues  along"  their  tracks 
would  be  interesting  things,  a  darned  sight  more 
interesting  than  eminent  reformers.  Only  there 
aren't  any.  They  don't  exist  outside  of  novels  and 
picture  houses." 

Mr.  Donovan  held  out  the  torn  envelope.  Phillips 
took  it  and  stuffed  it  into  his  pocket  again.  He 
was  unconvinced.  Cinema  exhibitions  are  respon- 
sible for  many  vain  imaginings,  no  doubt;  but  his 
envelope  was  a  fact.  He  had  found  it.  The  post- 
mark "was  plain  and  clear.  He  moved  over  to  the 
edge  of  the  balcony  and  gazed  out  across  the  sunlit 
bay.  It  seemed  impossible  then  and  there  to  tell 
the  story  of  Smith's  morning  expedition.  Mr.  Dono- 
van's logical  rationalism  was  invincible. 

"If  you  happen  to  come  on  that  book  about 
cocktails,"  said  Donovan,  "just  give  it  to  Smith. 
It's  somewhere.  In  giving  the  order  for  the  li- 
brary for  this  island,  I  specially  mentioned  that 
book  along  with  complete  illustrated  editions  of  all 
standard  American  and  European  authors." 

Phillips  turned  and  left  the  balcony.  It  was, 
after  all,  absurd  to  worry  and  puzzle  over  his 
envelope.  It  could  have  no  meaning.  Some  stray 
tourist  perhaps,  sight-seeing  far  from  all  beaten 
tracks,  had  made  his  way  into  the  house.  Tourists 
are  notorious  for  leaving  paper  behind  them.  As 
for  Smith  and  his  boating  at  dawn — could  Smith 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  105 

possibly  have  gone  to  search  for  breakfast  eggs  in 
a  sea  cave? 

He  glanced  once  more  at  the  bay  before  he 
returned  to  his  work.  The  Queen's  boat  was  no 
longer  in  sight.  The  girls  had  landed  perhaps  in 
some  quiet  creek,  or  the  Queen  had  taken  a  fancy 
to  cross  the  bay  and  explore  the  village  where  her 
subjects  lived. 

Kalliope  rowed  easily  and  was  well  content  to 
go  on  rowing  all  day.  She  was  almost  perfectly 
happy.  Fuller's  sweets  were  a  revelation  of  un- 
imagined  delight  to  her,  and  she  could  gaze  without 
interruption  at  the  Queen.  There  was  little  in  the 
world  left  for  her  heart  to  desire. 

The  girls  rowed  round  the  shore  of  the  bay. 
The  shadow  of  the  white  cliffs  was  grateful.  The 
Queen  delighted  to  drag  her  hands  through  the  cool 
water.  The  sound  of  its  lapping  against  the  steep 
rocks  soothed  her.  She  liked  to  peer  into  the  blue 
depths.  When  she  looked  up  it  was  pleasant  to 
meet  Kalliope's  soft  brown  eyes  and  to  see  the  ready 
smile  broaden  on  the  girl's  lips.  Now  and  then, 
laughing,  «he  leaned  forward  and  pressed  a  choco- 
late into  Kalliope's  mouth.  The  Queen's  fingers 
were  often  wet  with  salt  water,  but  that  did  not 
spoil  the  flavour  of  the  sweets  for  Kalliope. 

The  boat  slipped  past  high  sheer  cliffs,  past  little 
coves,  on  whose  sand  men's  feet  had  surely  never 
trodden,  past  the  mouths  of  great  caves,  gloomy, 
mysterious,  from  the  depths  of  which  came  a 
hollow  murmuring  of  water.  The  caves  had  a 


106  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

strange  fascination  for  the  Queen.  Her  eyes  fol- 
lowed their  steep  walls  up  to  the  arches  of  their  high 
dripping  roofs,  tried  to  pierce  the  dim  and  darkening 
shades  within,  gazed  down  through  the  water  at 
round  boulders  and  flat  shelves  of  rock,  seen  magni- 
fied and  strangely  blue  in  the  depths.  At  first  she 
was  half  fearful  and  would  not  allow  the  boat  to 
be  taken  near  the  mouths  of  the  caves  she  passed. 
At  the  mouth  of  one  cave  Kalliope  shouted  sud- 
denly. Echoes  answered  her  from  within,  repeating 
her  shout  and  repeating  it  till  the  cries  seemed  to 
come  from  far  off,  from  the  very  centre  of  the 
island.  Opposite  another  cave  Kalliope  shouted 
again  and  banged  her  oars  against  the  gunwhale  of 
the  boat.  A  flock  of  grey  birds,  some  kind  of  rock 
pigeons,  flew  out,  making  a  sound  of  rushing  with 
their  wings.  The  Queen  became,  little  by  little,  less 
fearful  and  more  curious. 

They  came  at  last  to  a  cavern  with  a  wide  entrance. 
The  daylight  shone  far  inside.  The  water  was  blue 
far  into  the  depths,  not  purple  or  black  as  it  seemed 
to  be  just  inside  the  narrower  caves.  The  Queen 
signed  to  Kalliope.  The  boat  turned,  Clipped  into 
the  wide  entrance,  rose  and  fell  upon  the  swelling 
water  under  the  high  roof.  Kalliope  rowed  on. 
For  awhile  she  rowed  with  her  oars  full  stretch  on 
their  rowlocks.  Then  the  walls  narrowed  more 
and  more  till  she  must  ship  her  oars.  The  boat 
glided  on  slowly  from  the  impulse  of  her  last  stroke. 
The  walls  narrowed  still.  Kalliope  stood  up.  Push- 
ing against  one  wall  and  then  the  other  with  an 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  107 

oar  grasped  midway  in  her  hands  she  drove  the 
boat  forward.  Suddenly  the  space  widened.  The 
roof  was  higher,  almost  out  of  sight.  The  boat 
passed  into  a  huge  cavern  very  dimly  lit.  The 
Queen  gasped,  sat  open-mouthed  in  breathless  silence 
for  a  moment ;  then  looking  round  she  saw  that  the 
cavern  was  lit  by  several  thin  shafts  of  pale-blue 
light.  More  than  one  of  the  caves  whose  entrance 
the  boat  had  passed  led  into  this  great  cavern. 
Kalliope,  laughing,  plunged  an  oar  into  the  waters. 
It  shone  silver  like  some  long  fish.  The  Queen 
gazed  at  it.  She  plunged  her  own  arm  in  and  saw 
it  turn  silver  too. 

The  water  was  still  deep  and  seemed  scarcely  to 
shallow  at  all  as  the  boat  moved  forward  into  the 
depths  of  the  cavern.  Suddenly  the  Queen  saw 
before  her  a  steep  beach  covered  with  large,  round 
stones.  The  boat  grounded.  Kalliope  leaped  on 
shore.  She  held  her  hand  out  to  the  Queen.  The 
two  girls  stood  together  on  the  beach.  Kalliope, 
still  holding  her  Queen's  hand,  led  the  way  upwards, 
away  from  the  boat  and  the  water.  Her  bare  feet 
moved  lightly  over  the  stones  which  shifted  and 
rolled  under  the  Queen's  shoes,  making  a  hollow 
sound.  Echoes  multiplied  the  sound  until  the  air 
was  full  of  hollow  mutterings,  like  the  smothered 
reports  of  very  distant  guns.  Kalliope  led  on. 
To  her  the  way  was  familiar.  The  dim  light  and 
hollow  noises  were  commonplace.  At  last  she 
stopped  and  with  a  little  cry  pointed  forward. 


io8  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

The  Queen  looked.  Her  eyes  were  well  accus- 
tomed now  to  the  dim  light.  She  saw. 

There  in  the  depths  of  the  mysterious  cavern, 
it  would  not  have  surprised  the  girl  to  see  strange 
things.  She  would  scarcely  have  been  astonished 
if  Kalliope  had  pointed  to  a  group  of  mermaids 
combing-  damp  hair  with  long  curved  shells.  Old 
Triton  with  his  wreathed  horn  would  have  been 
in  place,  almost  an  expected  vision,  if  he  had  sat 
on  a  throne  of  rock,  sea  carved,  with  panting 
dolphins  at  his  feet.  The  Queen  saw  no  such 
beings.  What  she  did  see  called  from  her  a  little 
cry  of  surprise,  made  her  cling  suddenly  to 
Kalliope's  arm. 

"Oh!"  she  said.    "Oh,  Kalliope,  what  are  they?" 

"Damn  boxes,"  said  Kalliope. 

Before  the  eyes  of  the  Queen,  stretching  along 
the  back  of  the  cave,  was  a  long  row  of  large  gal- 
vanized iron  tanks,  strongly  made,  with  heavily 
studded  seams,  each  with  a  great  copper  tap.  They 
were  ranged  in  a  most  orderly  line,  like  some  grey 
monsterc  carefully  drilled.  They  were  all  exactly 
the  same  width,  the  same  height,  and  the  copper 
spouts  exactly  matched  each  other. 

"Damned  boxes,"  said  Kalliope  cheerfully. 

Any  one  looking  at  them  might  almost  have 
agreed  with  her.  They  were  not  precisely  boxes. 
They  were  cisterns,  tanks,  but  they  gave  the  impres- 
sion of  being  damnable  and  damned. 

"But,"   said   the  Queen,   "what   are  they   for? 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  109 

What's  the  meaning  of  them?  How  did  they  get 
here?  Who  brought  them?" 

Kalliope  did  not  understand  the  questions,  but 
guessed  at  what  her  mistress  asked.  She  had  been 
learning  English  for  three  days  only.  She  had 
been  quick  to  pick  up  certain  words  from  the  Queen, 
words  in  frequent  use  between  them.  But  in  face 
of  questionings  like  these  the  vocabulary  of  mil- 
linery and  hair  dressing  failed  her  hopelessly.  She 
fell  back  on  what  she  had  picked  up  from  the  sailors' 
lips  and  from  her  brothers  who  were  already  en- 
riching the  island  language  with  English  slang. 

"Blighters,"  she  said,  "mucky  ship — go  row,  go 
row — damn  boxes." 

In  spite  of  the  pale  light  and  the  sinister  mystery 
of  the  tanks  in  front  of  her  the  Queen  laughed 
aloud.  The  pursuing  echoes  made  Kalliope's  Eng- 
lish irresistibly  absurd.  Then  she  pondered.  Men 
— whether  "blighters"  in  Kalliope's  mouth  conveyed 
reproach  or  were  simply  a  synonym  for  men  she 
did  not  know — men  in  a  ship — "mucky"  described 
the  ship  as  little  probably  as  "damn  boxes"  de- 
scribed the  packing-cases  of  furniture  or  "bloody" 
her  trunks  of  clothes.  Men  in  a  ship  had  brought 
the  tanks,  had  rowed  them — "go  row"  was  plain 
enough — ashore  in  boats. 

"But  who,"  said  the  Queen,  "and  why?" 

Kalliope  was  beaten.  Who  and  why  were  too 
much  for  her,  as  indeed  they  have  been  for  people 
far  wiser  than  she.  Are  not  all  theology  and  all 
philosophy  attempts,  and  for  the  most  part  vain 


no  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

attempts,  to  deal  with  just  those  two  words,  who 
and  why? 

"Blighters,"  said  Kalliope,  and  the  echoes  re- 
peated her  words  with  emphasis,  "blighters,  blight- 
ers, blighters,"  till  the  Queen  came  to  believe  it. 

Then  Kalliope,  memory  wakened  in  her,  grew 
suddenly  hopeful.  She  began  to  hum  a  tune,  very 
softly  at  first,  making  more  than  one  false  start; 
but  getting  it  nearly  right  at  last.  The  Queen 
recognized  it.  She  had  heard  it  a  hundred  times  in 
old  days  at  prayers  in  the  chapel  of  her  college. 
It  was  a  hymn  tune.  The  words  came  back  to 
her  at  once.  "Glorious  things  of  thee  are  spoken, 
Zion,  city  of  our  God."  She  took  Kalliope  by  the 
arm  and  led  her  back  to  the  boat. 

"Come  away,"  she  said,  "quick,  quick.  I'm  going 
mad." 

Kalliope  entered  into  the  spirit  of  a  new  game. 
She  ran  down  across  the  rolling  pebbles. 

"Go  row,"  she  said.  "Quick,  quick." 

The  boat,  Kalliope  pushing,  dragging,  rowing, 
burst  from  the  cavern,  fled  beyond  the  shadow  of 
the  cliffs,  glided  into  the  blaze  of  sunshine  and  the 
sparkling  water  of  the  outer  bay.  The  Queen  lay 
back  in  the  stern  and  laughed.  Kalliope,  resting 
on  her  oars,  laughed  too.  The  Queen's  laughter 
passed  into  an  uncontrollable  fit.  Tears  rolled  down 
her  cheeks.  Her  sides  were  sore.  She  gasped  for 
breath.  The  thought  of  that  row  of  portentously 
solemn  grey  tanks  was  irresistibly  comic.  They 
looked  like  stranded  codfish  with  their  tongues  out. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  in 

They  looked  like  a  series  of  caricatures  of  an  Amer- 
ican politician,  a  square-headed  ponderous  man,  who 
had  once  dined  with  her  father.  He  had  the  same 
appearance  of  imbecile  gravity,  the  same  enormous 
pomposity.  The  copper  spouts  were  so  many  exag- 
gerated versions  of  his  nose. 

Her  imagination  flew  to  a  vision  of  the  men  who 
had  brought  the  tanks  and  cisterns  there  in  a  "mucky 
ship."  She  seemed  to  see  them,  thin  scarecrows  of 
men,  crawling  over  the  rusty  sides  of  some  battered 
tramp  steamer;  mournful  men  with  brown  faces 
and  skinny  arms,  singing  their  hymn  with  sharp 
cracked  voices  while  they  laboured  at  their  utterly 
preposterous  task.  Laughter  conquered  the  Queen. 
She  lay  back  helpless  in  the  merciless  grip  of  uncon- 
trollable merriment.  Kalliope  could  not  laugh  so 
much.  The  joke  was  beyond  her.  She  sat  with  a 
wavering  half -smile  on  her  lips  watching  the  Queen. 
The  box  of  chocolates  lay  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat. 
Kalliope  stretched  her  foot  out,  touched  the  box, 
pushed  it  gently  towards  the  Queen.  It  seemed  to 
her  waste  of  a  golden  opportunity  to  leave  the  box, 
no  more  than  half  empty,  at  their  feet.  The  move- 
ment broke  the  spell  of  the  Queen's  laughter.  She 
picked  up  the  box,  pushed  chocolates  into  Kalliope's 
mouth,  filled  her  own  with  them. 


CHAPTER  XI 

T  FIND  it  necessary  to  remind  myself  from  time 
•*•  to  time  that  the  Queen  of  Salissa  is  a  young  girl, 
in  mind  and  experience  little  more  than  a  child. 
If  I  think  of  her  as  a  woman  or  allow  myself  to 
credit  her  with  any  common  sense,  that  blight 
which  falls  on  the  middle-aged,  her  actions  become 
unintelligible. 

She  ought,  no  doubt,  to  have  gone  straight  to 
her  father  and  told  him  about  the  cisterns  in  the 
cave.  That  was  the  sane  thing  to  do.  Donovan 
was  a  man  of  clear  understanding  and  wide  knowl- 
edge. He  would  have — I  do  not  know  precisely 
what  he  would  have  done,  but  it  would  have  been 
something  entirely  sensible.  The  Queen  dreaded 
nothing  so  much  as  that.  She  found  herself  for 
the  first  time  in  her  life  in  touch  with  a  mystery, 
surrounded  by  things  fascinatingly  incomprehen- 
sible. Her  island  held  a  secret,  was  the  scene — 
there  could  be  no  doubt  about  it — of  a  deep,  dark, 
•perhaps  dangerous  plot.  She  was  thrilled.  The 
more  she  thought  of  the  cavern  and  the  mysterious 
tanks,  the  more  delightful  the  thrills  became. 

She  made  a  confidant  of  Phillips,  choosing  in- 
stinctively the  only  person  on  the  island  likely  to 

112 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  113 

be  in  full  sympathy  with  her.  Phillips  was  older 
than  she  was.  He  was  twenty-eight;  but  he  was 
a  simple,  straightforward  young  man  with  his  boy- 
ish taste  for  adventure  unspoiled.  He  was  also 
deeply  in  love  with  the  Queen. 

I  have  found  it  very  difficult  to  get  either  from 
the  Queen  or  from  Phillips  a  complete  and  coherent 
account  of  what  happened  between  the  discovery 
of  the  cisterns  and  the  day  when  the  Ida  sailed, 
taking  Phillips  away  from  the  island.  I  gather  that 
they  were  both  the  victims  of  a  bad  attack  of 
detective  fever.  They  have  talked  to  me  quite 
freely  and  cheerfully  of  the  "Island  Mystery."  That 
was  the  Queen's  phrase.  About  a  much  more  im- 
portant matter  the  Queen  will  not  speak  at  all,  and 
Phillips  cannot  be  induced  to  dwell  on  details.  I 
have  been  obliged  to  depend  mainly  on  Kalliope  for 
information,  and  even  now  Kalliope  does  not  speak 
English  well. 

"We  have  three  clues,"  said  the  Queen  hopefully, 
"three  really  good  clues.  We  ought  to  be  able  to 
unearth  the  mystery.  Detectives  hardly  ever  have 
so  many." 

Phillips  named  the  three  clues,  ticking  them  off 
on  his  fingers. 

"First,  the  torn  envelope;  second,  Smith's  ex- 
pedition to  the  cave  before  dawn " 

"Before  dawn,"  said  the  Queen  with  rapture. 

"Third,  the  cisterns  in  the  cave.  Let's  go  and 
see  the  cisterns." 

"No,"  said  the  Queen.    "The  great  thing  is  not 


!II4  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

to  be  carried  away  by  passion.  We  must  be  cold, 
purely  intellectual.  We  must  be  thoroughly  syste- 
matic. We'll  begin  with  the  torn  envelope.  It 
happened  first." 

They  retired  to  a  shady  corner  of  the  balcony 
outside  the  Queen's  rooms  and  studied  the  torn 
envelope  for  two  hours.  They  were  analytical, 
keenly  and  minutely  observant,  coldly  cautious  in 
forming  conclusions.  They  tried  every  method  of 
detection  known  to  detective  science.  They  held 
the  envelope  up  to  the  light  in  order  to  discover 
a  watermark.  They  examined  the  texture  of  the 
paper,  the  ink  and  the  postage  stamp,  carefully 
through  a  powerful  magnifying  glass.  They  scraped 
one  corner  of  the  envelope  with  the  blade  of  a  pen- 
knife. They  took  four  photographs,  two  of  the 
front  and  two  of  the  back,  with  the  Queen's  hand 
camera.  They  talked  a  good  deal  about  finger- 
prints. 

Phillips  had  a  logical  mind  and  a  capacity  for 
synthetic  induction.  The  Queen  was  perhaps  the 
more  careful  observer.  She  had  certainly  the  more 
brilliant  imagination.  After  two  hours'  work  they 
summed  up  their  conclusions,  making  careful  notes 
with  the  Queen's  fountain  pen  on  the  blank  pages  at 
the  end  of  a  large  diary. 

"A  man  or  men "  said  Phillips. 

The  Queen  wrote  down  "A  man  or  men"  in  the 
diary. 

"Has,"  said  Phillips,  "or  have,  been  present  on 
the  island  of  Salissa  at  some  date  between  December 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  115 

15,  1913,  and  April  30,  1914.  The  said  man  or  men 
was  or  were  during  part  of  that  period  in  occupation 
of  the  royal  palace." 

"Royal  palace,"  said  the  Queen,  writing  rapidly. 

"This  man — or  men,  of  course — was  in  corre- 
spondence with  some  person  at  present  unknown, 
resident  in  the  city  of  London." 

"That's  very  important,"  said  the  Queen.  "Any- 
thing more  ?" 

"No,"  he  said,  "that's  all  I've  got." 

The  Queen  handed  over  the  diary.  It  was  Phil- 
lips' turn  to  write. 

"I  observed,"  she  said,  "that  the  envelope  is  of 
the  kind  used  by  business  men,  an  office  envelope; 
also  that  the  stamp  is  put  on  crooked." 

Phillips  looked  at  the  stamp.  It  was  put  on 
crooked. 

"From  this  I  infer,"  said  the  Queen,  "either  that 
the  man  in  London What  did  you  call  him?" 

"Person  at  present  unknown,"  said  Phillips. 

"Either  that  the  person  at  present  unknown  was 
(a)  habitually  careless  about  details,  or  that  (&) 
though  usually  careful  he  was  in  a  hurry  when  he 
despatched  this  letter." 

"By  Jove!"  said  Phillips,  "but,  I  say,  mightn't 
somebody  else,  an  office  boy  or  some  one,  have  put 
on  the  stamp?" 

"Not  on  a  letter  of  this  kind,"  said  the  Queen. 
"The  writer  wouldn't  have  trusted  any  one  else." 

"It's  frightfully  clever  of  you,"  said  Phillips, 
"to  have  thought  of  all  that." 


Ii6  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"It  does  not  lead  to  anything  very  definite  yet," 
said  the  Queen.  "But  you'll  find  it  will  all  fit 
together — like  a  jigsaw  puzzle  you  know — when  we 
get  to  work  on  the  other  two  clues.  We  can't 
expect  to  solve  a  mystery  of  this  sort  straight  off. 
We've  only  been  at  it  two  hours." 

Kalliope  stood  all  the  time  at  the  far  end  of  the 
balcony  watching  the  Queen.  She  knew  nothing 
about  the  investigation  of  the  island  mystery  which 
was  going  on  under  her  eyes.  But  she  was  a  young 
woman  who  had  lived  a  simple  and  natural  life. 
In  some  things  she  was  far  wiser  than  her  mistress. 
She  seems  to  have  realized  that  the  Queen  and 
Phillips  were  making,  without  knowing  it,  con- 
siderable progress  into  the  heart  of  another,  much 
more  enthralling,  mystery.  As  a  chaperone  Kalliope 
was  negligible. 

"The  next  clue,"  said  the  Queen,  "is  Smith. 
We  must  shadow  him." 

"Day  and  night,"  said  Phillips. 

"And  Stephanos.  Stephanos  was  with  him  when 
he  went  to  the  cavern  that  morning." 

"Stephanos  is  in  it  up  to  the  neck,"  said  Phillips. 
They  shadowed  Smith  for  the  rest  of  that  day. 
They  stole  on  tip-toe  about  the  house  and  burst 
suddenly  into  rooms  where  Smith  was  at  work, 
coming  upon  him  unexpectedly.  They  hid  in 
cupboards  and  behind  curtains  in  rooms  which 
Smith  was  likely  to  enter.  They  left  letters, 
written  in  cipher,  and  marked  coins  in  prominent 
places  where  Smith  could  hardly  fail  to  see  them. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  117 

Kalliope  conceived  that  an  elaborate  game  of  hide- 
and-seek  was  being  played.  She  joined  in,  en- 
thusiastically but  unintelligently,  concealing  herself 
in  various  parts  of  the  house  without  regard  to 
Smith's  habits.  Once  she  remained  obstinately  hid- 
den for  more  than  an  hour  under  the  Queen's  bed. 

The  results  were  most  unsatisfactory.  Smith 
spent  his  day  sweeping  floors,  making  beds,  cooking 
food  and  compounding  cocktails  for  Mr.  Donovan. 
His  few  leisure  moments  were  spent  in  polishing 
silver.  He  was  totally  uninterested  in  cipher 
documents  and  never  looked  at  marked  coins. 

Smith  still  slept  on  the  steamer,  so  it  fell  to 
Phillips  to  keep  guard  over  him  at  night.  He 
adopted  the  ingenious,  though  not  very  novel  plan 
of  pasting  a  strip  of  paper  across  the  door  of  Smith's 
cabin.  In  the  morning,  very  early,  he  went  to  look 
at  the  door.  The  paper  was  intact. 

So  far  as  could  be  discovered  Smith  led  a  dull, 
laborious  but  innocent  life,  working  hard  all  day 
and  sleeping  sound  at  night.  But  the  time  spent 
in  shadowing  him  was  not  wholly  wasted.  The 
Queen  and  Mr.  Phillips  enjoyed  themselves  thor- 
oughly. So  did  Kalliope.  So,  I  have  no  doubt, 
did  Smith. 

"I  do  call  this  sleuth  work  jolly,"  said  the  Queen. 
"Let's  try  old  Stephanos." 

They  gave  a  whole  day  to  Stephanos  the  Elder. 
During  the  early  hours  he  sat  outside  the  door  of 
his  cottage,  rolling  cigarettes  in  thin  brown  paper 
and  smoking  them.  When  the  Queen  came  near 


ii8  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

him  he  stood  up  and  bowed  gravely.  When  she 
passed  he  sat  down  again.  At  noon  he  went  indoors 
and  dined.  The  Queen  sent  Kalliope  across  the 
harbour  to  the  palace  with  a  note  to  Smith.  She 
returned  with  a  large  basket.  The  Queen  and 
Phillips  picnicked  on  the  beach. 

Early  in  the  afternoon  Stephanos  walked  through 
the  vineyards  which  lay  behind  the  village  and  sat 
down  under  a  mulberry  tree.  The  Queen  stalked 
him.  She  made  her  approach  in  a  most  approved 
fashion,  creeping  through  some  low  bushes  with  the 
utmost  caution.  She  was  even  careful  to  advance 
against  the  wind  in  case  Stephanos  should  have 
an  unusually  acute  sense  of  smell.  Phillips  and 
Kalliope  watched  her  from  a  hiding-place  near  the 
village.  When  she  got  within  twenty  yards  of  the 
old  man,  he  rose  to  his  feet,  laid  his  hand  on  his 
heart  and  bowed  to  the  Queen  with  dignified 
courtesy.  If  he  felt  any  surprise  at  seeing  the  Queen 
crawling  along  the  ground  on  her  stomach  he  did  not 
show  it.  His  face  expressed  paternal  but  quite  re- 
spectful benignity.  The  Queen  returned  from  this 
expedition  very  much  heated,  with  her  hair  dis- 
hevelled. Kalliope  spent  some  time  trying  to  rub  the 
dirt  off  the  front  of  her  frock. 

An  hour  later  Stephanos  climbed  slowly  to  the 
high  plateau  of  the  island  and  sat  down  on  the  edge 
of  a  cliff.  This  time  Phillips  stalked  him,  making 
his  way  up  the  steep  gully  which  led  to  a  part  of  the 
cliff  behind  the  old  man's  seat.  Stephanos  sat  gaz- 
ing at  the  sea,  apparently  unconscious  that  any  one 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  119 

was  near  him.  But  when  Phillips  emerged  from 
his  gully  the  old  man  was  there  waiting  for  him, 
bowing  with  placid  politeness  just  as  he  had  bowed 
to  the  Queen. 

The  complete  failure  of  this  sleuth  work  would 
have  been  a  disappointment  to  many  people.  The 
Queen  and  Phillips  remained  perfectly  cheerful 
and  laughed  happily  at  their  own  misfortunes. 

Kalliope  regarded  them  with  some  wonder.  The 
ways  of  highly  civilized  people  were  strange  to  her. 
She  became  slightly  contemptuous  of  Phillips  and 
wondered  that  the  Queen  tolerated  him  so  long. 
Kalliope  had  a  lover  of  her  own,  a  young  man  much 
more  direct  and  rapid  than  Phillips  was.  She  was 
of  opinion  that  a  very  diffident  lover  was  unsatis- 
factory. He  wasted  time.  It  seemed  to  her 
foolish  to  spend  hours  talking  and  consulting  in  the 
corner  of  a  balcony,  playing  hide-and-seek  about  a 
house,  and  a  whole  day  climbing  over  an  island, 
when  it  was  quite  easy  to  kiss  and  be  happy  at 
once.  She  longed  to  express  her  sympathy,  con- 
dole with  the  Queen  over  Phillips'  insulting  apathy. 
It  was,  perhaps,  fortunate  that  Kalliope' s  English 
was  wholly  insufficient  for  such  confidences. 

Before  the  next  day  was  over  Kalliope  thought 
better  of  Phillips. 

The  envelope  yielded  little  useful  information. 
The  shadowing  of  Smith  and  Stephanos  was  entirely 
useless.  But  neither  the  Queen  nor  Phillips  lost 
heart.  They  were  as  eager  as  ever  to  solve  the 


120  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

mystery.  There  remained  the  third  clue,  the 
cisterns  in  the  cave. 

The  Queen,  Phillips  and  Kalliope  started  early 
next  day.  They  went  in  the  small  island  boat 
which  Kalliope  rowed.  Smith  was  on  the  palace 
steps  to  see  them  off.  He  had  with  him  a  large 
basket  packed  with  food. 

"Thank  you,  Smith,"  said  the  Queen.  "I 
expect  we'll  be  back  for  luncheon,  but  we  may  not. 
One  never  knows.  We  meant  to  be  back  yester- 
day, but " 

"Yes,  your  Majesty,"  said  Smith.  "Not  know- 
ing where  you  thought  of  going,  I  packed  the  bas- 
ket." 

"Oh,  not  far,"  said  the  Queen.  "Still,  we  may 
not  be  back." 

Smith  stood  respectful  as  a  footman  who  has 
closed  his  mistress'  carriage  door  until  the  boat 
pushed  off.  Then  he  sat  down  on  the  steps  below 
the  flagstaff  and  lit  a  pipe.  It  was,  perhaps,  an 
idle  morning  with  Smith.  He  seemed  in  no  hurry 
to  go  back  to  his  work.  He  sat  smoking  and 
watched  the  boat  as  she  crossed  the  harbour.  He 
saw  her  reach  the  mouth  of  the  cave  and  disappear 
into  its  depths.  Soon  afterwards  another  boat  put 
off  from  the  beach  below  the  village.  Smith 
watched  it  too.  There  was  one  man  on  board.  It 
also  headed  for  the  mouth  of  the  cave.  Smith 
knocked  the  ashes  out  of  his  pipe,  stood  up  and  went 
into  the  palace. 

Kalliope  poled  the  boat  through  the  narrow  part 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  121 

of  the  cave,  rowed  her  briskly  across  the  lagoon 
within  and  beached  her  on  the  steep  slope  beyond. 
Phillips  leaped  ashore  and  held  out  his  hand  to  the 
Queen.  They  stumbled  a  little  on  the  round  stones 
It  is  very  difficult  to  walk  steadily  over  stones 
which  roll  under  the  feet.  The  Queen  laid  her  hand 
on  Phillips'  arm.  She  went  more  securely  with  this 
support,  so  she  held  to  it,  leaning  a  good  deal  of 
her  weight  on  it. 

"There!"  she  said.  "Look  at  them.  Aren't 
they  the  most  ridiculous  things  you  ever  saw  ?" 

No  doubt  the  tanks,  with  their  grey  fronts  and 
great  spouts  sticking  out  of  them,  had  an  absurd 
appearance.  They  reminded  Phillips  of  the  pre- 
historic monsters  which  artists  sometimes  draw  in 
our  comic  papers.  They  had  the  same  look  of 
stupid  largeness.  There  was  the  same  suggestion 
of  gaping  malevolence.  In  the  cool  blue  light  of 
the  cave  they  looked  grotesquely  inappropriate. 
Phillips'  first  impulse  was  to  laugh  aloud.  But  he 
was  a  young  man  with  a  conscience.  It  was  his 
duty  to  examine  the  cisterns,  to  find  out  if  possible 
what  they  were,  not  to  make  fun  of  them. 

He  walked  up  to  the  nearest  one  and  turned  on 
the  tap.  Nothing  came  out.  He  tried  the  next 
one  with  the  same  result.  He  walked  along  the 
whole  line  of  tanks  and  turned  on  every  tap.  The 
tanks  were  apparently  empty.  Mr.  Phillips  picked 
up  a  stone  and  struck  each  tank  several  times. 
The  sound  was  hollow.  If  there  had  been  any 
doubt  about  that  the  echoes  would  have  convinced 


122  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

him.     There  was  a  fusillade  of  hollow  tappings. 

Phillips,  placing  his  foot  on  the  tap  of  one  of  the 
tanks,  climbed  up. 

"Well,"  said  the  Queen  from  below.  "What 
have  you  found?" 

"They're  very  large,"  said  Phillips.  They  go 
back  a  long  way.  They'd  hold  gallons  and  gallons 
of  whatever  they're  supposed  to  hold,  and  there  are 
round  lids  with  handles  to  lift  them  off  by." 

"Oh,"  said  the  Queen.  "I  would  like  to  see.  I 
think  I  could  get  up." 

Phillips  thought  so  too.  He  stretched  out  a 
helping  hand.  The  Queen  put  her  foot  on  a  tap 
and  grasped  the  hand.  Phillips  pulled.  The  Queen 
sprang  upwards,  holding  the  hand  tight.  She 
reached  the  top  of  the  tank  breathless  and  sat 
down.  Phillips  still  held  her  hand. 

It  is  doubtful  whether  the  Queen  ever  realized 
the  full  size  of  those  tanks,  or  even  saw  the  lids 
which  Mr.  Phillips  had  mentioned.  The  light  was 
very  dim.  The  situation,  in  spite  of  the  grotesque 
appearance  of  the  tanks,  was  exceedingly  romantic. 
Long  stalactites  hung,  faintly  gleaming,  from  the 
roof.  The  water,  strangely  blue,  mourned  against 
the  stones  of  the  beach,  sighed  through  the  deep 
recesses  of  the  cave.  The  world  and  all  common 
things  seemed  very  remote. 

Ten  minutes  later  the  Queen  suddenly  started. 
She  wriggled  rapidly  along  the  edge  of  the  tanks 
until  she  sat  five  or  six  yards  away  from  Phillips. 

"Oh,"  she  cried,  "there's  Kalliope!" 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  123 

They  had  left  Kalliope  at  the  boat,  but  she  had 
not  stayed  there.  She  was  standing  in  front  of 
the  tanks  looking  up  at  the  Queen  and  Phillips. 
She  stood  quite  still.  It  was  impossible  to  know 
how  long  she  had  been  there. 

"Damn  Kalliope!"  said  Mr.  Phillips  fiercely. 

Kalliope  smiled  quietly.  She  showed  no  signs  of 
embarrassment.  She  did  not  pretend  to  be  look- 
ing in  any  other  direction.  She  had  been  kissed 
herself  more  than  once  by  her  own  lover,  and 
had  found  it  pleasant.  It  did  not  strike  her  as  in 
any  way  odd  that  the  Queen  should  like  kisses  too. 

"Help  me  down,  quick,"  said  the  Queen. 

She  did  not  wait  for  the  help  she  asked.  Dis- 
daining even  the  foothold  of  the  tap  she  slid  over 
the  edge  of  the  tank  and  came  down  with  a  crash 
on  the  rolling  stones  at  Kalliope's  feet.  Phillips 
followed  her  with  a  single  bound. 

Kalliope  pointed  with  her  finger  to  a  boat, 
another  boat,  which  had  just  grounded  on  the 
beach.  Stephanos  the  Elder  stepped  from  it  and 
bowed  low  to  the  Queen,  bowed  so  low  that  his 
long  beard  almost  touched  the  ground. 

"Well,  I'm  blest!"  said  Phillips. 

"My!"  said  the  Queen,  "isn't  it  lucky  I  saw 
Kalliope  just  when  I  did?  Fancy  if  that  old 
fellow  had  caught  us !  I  don't  so  much  mind  about 
Kalliope,  though  of  course  it  was  awful.  But  I 
never  could  have  looked  the  old  man  in  the  face 
if  he  had  seen  us." 

Later  on,  while  they  sat  at  luncheon  on  the  sand 


I24  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

of  a  little  cove  near  the  entrance  of  the  cave,  the 
Queen  suddenly  burst  into  a  peal  of  merry  laughter. 

"Say,"  she  said,  "he  stalked  us  rather  better 
than  we  stalked  him  yesterday,  didn't  he  ?" 

Next  day  the  Ida,  with  Phillips  on  board,  set  sail 
for  England. 


CHAPTER  XII 

"GRAND  HOTEL  DES  CHAMPS  D'£LYSEES,  PARIS, 

June  4,  1914. 

MY  DEAR  GORMAN, — 
"I  arrive  at  the  excellent  Beaufort's  Hotel 
the  day  after  to-morrow.  I  hope  that  you  will  dine 
with  me  that  evening  at  8  p.m.  There  are  matters 
of  importance.  Corinne  accompanies  me.  She  is 
adorable  as  ever,  in  good  form  and  full  of  peas. 
We  have  had  a  time  of  a  life,  rattling,  since  I  saw 
you.  Now — alas  and  damn — there  are  matters  of 
importance.  The  Emperor — but  I  can  write  no 
more — Corinne  awaits  me.  We  go  to  paint  Paris 
blue,  she  and  I,  once  again.  Then — damn  and  alas 
— London  and  the  virtuous  life  of  your  English 
middling  class. 

"KONRAD  KARL." 

Gorman  did  not  hesitate  for  a  moment.  He  made 
up  his  mind  to  accept  the  invitation  even  if  he  had 
to  miss  the  most  important  division  which  Parlia- 
ment enjoyed  during  its  whole  session.  The  pro- 
spect of  seeing  Konrad  Karl  and  Madame  Ypsilante 
practising  middle-class  virtue  in  Beaufort's  Hotel 
125 


126  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

was  by  itself  sufficiently  attractive.  The  promise 
of  important  affairs  for  discussion  was  another  lure. 
Gorman  loves  important  affairs,  especially  those  of 
other  people.  But  the  mention  of  the  Emperor 
interested  him  most.  The  introduction  of  his 
name  made  it  certain  that  the  important  affairs 
were  those  of  Salissa.  And  Gorman  had  always 
been  anxious  to  understand  in  what  way  the  Em- 
peror was  mixed  up  with  Megalia  and  how  he  came 
to  exercise  an  influence  over  that  independent  state. 
Gorman  was  dressing  for  dinner — was,  in  fact, 
buttoning  his  collar — when  his  landlord  entered 
his  room  and  handed  him  a  card.  Gorman  looked 
at  it. 

"FWEDRICH   GOLDSTURMER, 

Dealer  in  Jewels  and  Precious  Stones, 
Old  Bond  Street" 

Written  across  the  corner  of  the  card  were  the 
words :  "Business  important  and  urgent." 

Gorman  glanced  at  his  watch.  He  had  no  time  to 
spare  if  he  meant  to  be  at  Beaufort's  at  eight.  Punc- 
tuality was  no  doubt  one  of  the  middle-class  virtues 
which  the  King  and  Madame  Ypsilante  were  at 
that  moment  practising.  Gorman  hesitated.  The 
landlord,  who  had  once  been  a  butler,  stood  waiting. 

"Tell  him,"  said  Gorman,  "to  call  to-morrow 
at  eleven." 

"Beg  pardon,  sir,"  said  the  landlord,  "but  the 
gentleman  says  his  business  is  most  pressing." 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  127 

Gorman  reflected.  If  Goldsturmer  had  given  the 
landlord  five  shillings — and  this  seemed  likely — the 
business  must  be  very  pressing  indeed;  and  King 
Konrad  Karl  could  not  yet  have  become  an  abso- 
lute slave  to  the  virtue  of  punctuality. 

"Show  him  in  here,"  said  Gorman;  "that  will 
save  time." 

Goldsturmer  slipped  into  the  room  and  stood 
meekly  near  the  door. 

"Sit  down,"  said  Gorman.  "Sit  on  the  bed  if 
you  can't  find  a  chair,  and  tell  me  what  you  want 
with  me,  as  quickly  as  you  can." 

"It's  very  kind  of  you,"  said  Goldsturmer,  "to 
receive  me  at  this  hour.  Nothing  but  the  very 
pressing  nature  of  my  business — but  I  will  get  to 
the  point.  You  will  doubtless  remember  a  certain 
rope  of  pearls.  Let  me  see,  it  must  have  been  in 
March " 

"I  don't  remember  any  rope  of  pearls,"  said 
Gorman.  "I  take  no  interest  in  pearls." 

"No?  Still  I  hoped  you  might  recollect  those 
pearls.  They  were  the  finest  I  ever  had  in  my 
hands." 

Goldsturmer  spoke  in  a  tone  of  pained  regret. 
It  seemed  to  him  a  sad  thing  that  there  should  be 
any  man  in  the  world  who  took  no  interest  in  pearls. 

"Madame  Ypsilante  bought  them,"  said  Gold- 
sturmer. 

"There's  no  use  coming  to  me,"  said  Gorman, 
"if  you've  failed  to  get  your  money.  I've  nothing 
to  do  with  the  lady." 


128  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

Goldsturmer  smiled. 

"She  paid,"  he  said.  "Otherwise  she  would  not 
have  got  the  pearls.  There  was  another  lady  who 
might  have  bought  them,  an  American,  a  Miss 
Donovan." 

"But   Madame  got  them,"   said   Gorman. 

"Yes.  But  perhaps  Miss  Donovan  might  have 
them  now,  through  me,  at  the  original  price." 

Gorman  began  to  be  interested. 

"Madame  tired  of  them?"  he  asked.  "Wants 
to  sell?" 

"Tired  of  them !"  said  Goldsturmer.  "No.  For 
any  one  who  loves  pearls  that  would  be  impossible. 
But  desires  to  sell.  Yes." 

"Well,"  said  Gorman.  "That's  her  affair  and 
yours.  I  don't  see  that  I  have  anything  to  do 
with  it." 

"Before  I  agree  to  buy,"  said  Goldsturmer,  "I 
should  like  to  be  sure  that  the  American  lady, 
Miss  Donovan,  still  wishes  for  the  pearls.  I  do 
not  want  to  lock  up  my  capital.  I  cannot  afford  to 
lock  up  so  large  a  sum.  I  must  be  assured  of  a 
purchaser  before  I  buy  from  Madame  Ypsilante. 
It  is  not  every  one  who  can  pay  for  such  pearls. 
Ah!  if  you  had  seen  them!  They  are  suited  for 
the  wearing  of  a  queen.  Only  a  queen  should  have 
them." 

Miss  Donovan  was,  of  course,  a  queen.  Gorman 
wondered  whether  Goldsturmer  knew  that.  He 
looked  at  the  little  Jew  sharply.  Goldsturmer's 
face  wore  a  far-away  dreamy  expression.  He 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  129 

seemed  to  be  thinking  of  his  pearls  draped  round  the 
neck  of  an  Empress,  a  Czarina  or  some  other  lady 
of  very  high  estate  who  would  wear  them  worthily. 

"Only  a  queen,"  he  murmured,  "should  wear 
those  pearls." 

"Madame  Ypsilante  is  the  next  best  thing  to  a 
queen,"  said  Gorman. 

A  faint  smile  flickered  across  Goldsturmer's 
mouth. 

"I  would  rather,"  he  said,  "that  a  real  queen,  a 
queen  by  right  of  law,  wore  them.  Tell  me,  Mr. 
Gorman,  is  Miss  Donovan  still  willing  to  buy 
them?" 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know,"  said  Gorman.  "I 
haven't  seen  her  for  weeks.  She's  yachting  in  the 
Mediterranean  with  her  father.  If  I  were  you  I'd 
give  up  Miss  Donovan  and  look  out  for  a  queen." 

"Thank  you,"  said  Goldsturmer.  "But  if  I 
give  up  Miss  Donovan  I  think  I  shall  not  buy  the 
pearls  from  Madame  Ypsilante.  There  are,  alas, 
few  queens." 

Gorman  was  not,  after  all,  more  than  five  minutes 
late  for  dinner.  The  King  was  waiting  for  him, 
but  without  any  sign  of  impatience.  Madame 
Ypsilante  entered  the  room  a  minute  or  two  later. 

She  was  wearing  a  purple  velvet  dress  which 
struck  Gorman  as  a  very  regal  garment.  Round 
her  neck  was  a  magnificent  rope  of  pearls.  Gorman 
had  no  doubt  that  they  were  those  of  which  Gold- 
sturmer had  spoken.  They  were  finer  than  any  he 
had  ever  seen.  It  was  easy  to  believe  that  there 


130  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

was  no  other  such  necklace  in  the  world  and  that 
only  a  queen  should  wear  them.  But  they  suited 
Madame  Ypsilante.  She  would,  so  far  as  her 
appearance  went,  have  made  a  very  fine  queen. 

During  dinner  the  conversation  was  about  Paris. 
The  King  spoke  of  pleasant  adventures  there,  of 
the  life  he  and  Madame  had  lived,  of  the  delight  of 
having  money  to  spend,  really  enough  of  it,  in  a 
city  like  Paris.  He  told  his  stories  well,  his  vehe- 
mently idiomatic  English  emphasizing  his  points. 
He  became  lyrical  in  his  appreciation  of  the  joys  of 
life.  When  dessert  was  on  the  table  and  port  took 
the  place  of  champagne  he  lapsed  into  a  philosophic 
mood. 

"The  damned  gods  of  life,"  he  said,  "are  blind 
of  one  eye.  They  are  lame  and  they  limp.  They 
are  left-handed.  They  give  the  oof,  the  dollars, 
the  shekels,  and  do  not  give  the  power  to  enjoy. 
The  Americans — your  Donovan,  for  example. 
What  does  he  know  of  pleasure?  The  English  of 
your  middling  classes.  What  is  Paris  to  them? 
They  have  money  but  no  more.  Those  left-handed 
gods  have  given  a  useless  gift.  On  me  and  on 
Corinne  they  have  bestowed  the  power,  the  knowl- 
edge, the  skill  to  enjoy;  and  we,  damn  it  all,  have  no 
money." 

The  King  sighed  deeply.  Madame  Ypsilante  had 
tears  in  her  eyes.  She  was  in  full  sympathy  with 
the  King's  new  mood.  Gorman  was  astonished. 
The  price  which  Mr.  Donovan  had  paid  for  the 
crown  of  Salissa  was  a  large  one.  Even  after  ten 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  1311 

thousand  pounds  had  been  spent  on  Madame 
Ypsilante's  pearls  there  was  a  sum  left  which  it 
would  be  difficult  to  spend  in  a  few  weeks. 

"Surely,"  he  said,  "you  haven't  got  rid  of  all 
the  money  yet?  You  can't  have  spent  it  in  the 
time.  I  didn't  think  you  could  be  hard  up  again  so 
soon.  Even  when  I  heard  that  Madame  wanted 
to  sell  her  pearls " 

"Sell  my  pearls!"  said  Madame.  "But  never! 
Never,  never!  !" 

There  were  no  tears  in  her  eyes  then.  The  mood 
of  self-pity  induced  by  the  King's  reflections  on 
left-handed  gods  had  passed  away.  She  looked 
fierce  as  a  tigress  when  she  shot  out  her  next  ques- 
tion to  Gorman. 

"Who  has  said  that  I  wish  to  sell  my  pearls? 
Who  has  said  it  ?  I  demand.  I  insist :  Tell  me  his 
name  and  I  will  at  once  kill  him.  I  shall  pluck  out 
his  heart  and  dogs  shall  eat  it." 

Gorman  did  not  care  whether  Goldsturmer's  heart 
was  eaten  by  dogs  or  not.  He  did  want  to  under- 
stand hovr  it  came  that  the  astute  Jew  expected  to 
have  the  pearls  offered  to  him.  It  was  plain  that 
Madame  Ypsilante  did  not  want  to  sell  them  and 
that  she  had  not  suggested  the  sale. 

"It  was  Goldsturmer,"  said  Gorman,  "who  told 
me.  He  seemed  to  think  that  Miss  Donovan  might 
buy  them." 

Madame  at  once  knocked  down  two  wine-glasses 
and  a  vase  of  flowers. 

"That  cursed  offspring  of  the  litter  of  filthy  Jews 


132  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

who  make  Hamburg  stink!  Tell  him  that  I  will 
pull  out  his  hair,  his  teeth,  his  eyes,  but  that  never, 
never  will  that  American  miss  touch  one  of  my 
pearls.  I  will  not  sell,  will  not,  will  not." 

The  King  looked  round.  He  satisfied  himself 
that  the  waiters  had  left  the  room. 

"Alas,"  he  said,  "alas,  my  poor  Corinne!  But 
consider.  There  is  an  English  proverb:  the  horse 
needs  must  trot  along,  trot  smart,  when  it  is  the 
devil  who  drives." 

"He  is  the  devil,  that  Emperor,"  said  Madame. 
"But  not  for  any  Emperor  will  I  part  with  one 
single  pearl." 

"Look  here,"  said  Gorman.  "There's  evidently 
been  some  mistake  about  Goldsturmer  and  the 
pearls.  I  don't  profess  to  understand  what's  hap- 
pening, but  if  I'm  to  help  you  in  any  way ' 

"You  are  to  help  damnably,"  said  the  King. 
"Are  you  not  our  friend  ?" 

"In  that  case,"  said  Gorman,  "before  I  go  a 
step  further  into  the  matter  I  must  know  what  on 
earth  the  Emperor  has  got  to  do  with  Madame's 
pearls." 

"The  Emperor,"  said  Madame  Ypsilante,  "is  a 
devil." 

"Take  another  glass  of  port,"  said  the  King. 
"No?  Then  light  a  cigar.  If  you  will  light  a  cigar 
and  fill  for  yourself  a  glass  of  brandy — also  for 
Corinne — I  will  tell  you  about  the  Emperor." 

Gorman  filled  Madame's  glass  and  his  own.  He 
was  particular  about  Madame's.  Brandy  had  a 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  133 

soothing  influence  on  her.  He  did  not  like  her  habit 
of  throwing  things  about  in  moments  of  excite- 
ment. He  also  lit  a  cigar. 

"I  will  make  my  breast  clean  of  the  whole  affair," 
said  the  King.  "Then  you  will  understand  and 
help  us.  The  Emperor  has  spilt  cold  water  all  over 
Salissa — that  is  over  the  sale  of  the  island  to  the 
American." 

"The  Emperor  must  have  very  little  to  do,"  said 
Gorman,  "if  he  has  time  to  waste  in  fussing  about 
a  wretched  little  island  like  Salissa.  How  did  he 
hear  about  the  sale?" 

"I  think,"  said  the  King,  "that  Steinwitz  must 
have  permitted  the  cat  to  jump  out  of  the  bag. 
Steinwitz  smelt  rats,  of  that  I  am  sure." 

"I  daresay  you're  right,"  said  Gorman.  "I 
rather  thought  Steinwitz  was  nosing  around.  But 
why  does  the  Emperor  mind?  That's  what  I'm 
trying  to  get  at." 

The  King  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"Who  knows  ?"  he  said.  "Real  Politik,  perhaps. 
What  you  call How  do  you  call  Real  Politik  ?" 

"Haven't  got  a  word  for  it,"  said  Gorman. 
"For  the  matter  of  that  we  haven't  got  the  thing. 
We  manage  along  all  right  with  sham  politics,  Ire- 
land and  Insurance  Acts  and  the  rest  of  it.  If  real 
politics  lead  to  trouble  over  places  like  Salissa  I 
prefer  our  home-made  imitation.  But  Real  Politik 
or  not,  the  thing's  done ;  so  what's  the  good  of  the 
Emperor  talking?" 

"The  Emperor,"  said  the  King,  "says  'Buy  back. 


ii34  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

Take  again  your  island.  Foot — no,  it  is  foot  of  a 
horse — hoof,  or  boot  away  the  American.  Give 
him  his  price  and  let  him  go.'  And  I  cannot.  It 
is  no  longer  possible  to  give  back  the  oof." 

"I  quite  understand  that,"  said  Gorman.  "Your 
six  weeks  in  Paris  and  Madame's  pearls " 

"The  Emperor  shall  not  touch  my  pearls,"  said 
Madame  Ypsilante.  "Rather  would  I  swallow 
them." 

"The  American,"  said  the  King,  "will  perhaps 
accept  a  reduced  price.  The  island  is  not  an 
amusing  place.  Dull,  my  friend,  dull  as  ditch  mud. 
By  this  time  he  has  found  out  that  Salissa  is  as 
respectable  as  Sunday,  as  golf,  as  what  you  call 
a  seasonable  ticket.  He  will  not  want  to  keep  it. 
He  will  accept  a  price,  perhaps,  if  I  offer." 

"I  don't  expect  he'll  accept  a  price  at  all,"  said 
Gorman,  "reduced  or  increased.  I  don't  know,  of 
course.  He  may  be  dead  sick  of  the  place  already ; 
but  I'll  be  surprised  if  he  is.  You'll  find  when 
you  ask  him  that  he'll  simply  refuse  to  part  with 
the  island." 

"But,"  said  the  King,  "he  must.  As  I  have  just 
said  to  Corinne,  when  the  devil  drives  the  horse 
to  water  it  needs  must  take  a  drink.  The  Emperor 
has  said  that  Salissa  is  once  more  to  return  to  the 
Crown  of  Megalia." 

"The  Emperor  may  say  that,"  said  Gorman,  "but 
it  doesn't  at  all  follow  that  Donovan  will  agree 
with  him." 

"But  the  Emperor !    It  is  not  for  Mr.  Dono- 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  135 

van  to  agree  or  disagree  with  the  Emperor.  When 
the  Emperor  commands  it  is  a  case  of  knuckles 
down.  But  you  do  not  know  the  Emperor." 

"I  do  not,"  said  Gorman,  "but  I'm  inclined  to 
think  that  you  take  an  exaggerated  view  of  him. 
After  all,  what  can  he  do  to  Donovan  or  to  you 
for  that  matter?  Come  now,  suppose  you  won't 
or  can't  buy  back  the  island,  what  happens  ?  What's 
the  alternative?  There  must  be  an  alternative  of 
some  sort." 

"There  is — yes,  there  certainly  is  an  alternative." 

The  King  paused  and  looked  apprehensively  at 
Madame  Ypsilante. 

"He  can't  lay  hands  on  you,"  said  Gorman,  "if 
you  stick  to  Paris  or  even  London.  That  Emperor 
isn't  particularly  popular  in  either  city." 

The  King,  his  eyes  still  fixed  on  Madame  Ypsi- 
lante, nodded  sideways  towards  Gorman.  The  nod 
was  a  very  slight  one,  barely  perceptible.  It  sug- 
gested the  need  of  extreme  caution.  Gorman  is  a 
quick-witted  man  and  he  saw  the  nod,  but  he  failed 
altogether  to  guess  what  the  alternative  was. 

Madame  Ypsilante  noticed  the  expression  of  the 
King's  face  when  he  looked  at  her.  She  also  saw 
the  nod  that  was  meant  for  Gorman.  She  became 
uneasy.  Her  eyes  had  a  hard  glitter  in  them.  Gor- 
man at  once  refilled  her  glass.  That  soothed  her  a 
little.  She  did  not  break  anything.  But  she  spoke : 

"Konrad,  at  once  tell  me  all  that  the  Emperor 
said." 

"Corinne,"  said  the  King,  "my  beloved  Corinne, 


136  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

it  will  make  no  difference  to  you.  The  future  and 
the  past  will  be  as  six  to  one  and  half  a  dozen  to 
the  other.  You  will  always  be  Corinne.  Have  no 
fear,  and — as  my  friend  Gorman  would  say,  do  not 
take  off  your  hair." 

"Tell  me,"  said  Madame. 

"The  Emperor,"  said  the  King,  "has  said  to  me, 
'Buy  back  the  island  or  else  marry  the  American.' 
In  that  way  also  Salissa  would  return  to  the  Crown 
of  Megalia." 

Gorman  fully  expected  that  Madame  Ypsilante 
would  at  once  have  broker  every  glass  on  the  table. 
It  would  not  have  surprised  him  in  the  least  if  she 
had  torn  handfuls  of  hair  off  the  King's  head. 
To  his  amazement  she  laughed.  It  was  a  most  un- 
pleasant laugh.  But  it  was  not  the  laugh  of  a 
lunatic.  It  was  not  even  hysterical. 

"That  imbecile,"  she  said,  "that  miss !" 

Her  contempt  for  the  girl  left  no  room  for  jeal- 
ousy. Madame  Ypsilante  did  not  seem  to  care 
whether  the  King  married  or  did  not. 

"I  don't  think  much  of  that  plan,"  said  Gorman. 
"Your  Emperor  may  be  the  everlasting  boss  you 
seem  to  think " 

"In  the  register  of  Lloyd's,"  said  the  King,  "he 
takes  place  in  the  class  A  ist." 

"But,"  said  Gorman,  "he  hasn't  much  sense  if  he 
thinks  that  a  girl  like  Miss  Donovan  can  be  married 
off  in  that  way  to  any  one  he  chooses  to  name.  I'm 
not  saying  anything  against  your  character,  sir " 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  137 

"My  Konrad,"  said  Madame  Ypsilante,  "is 
Konrad." 

"Exactly,"  said  Gorman.  "Those  are  my  points 
put  concisely  in  two  words.  First  he's  yours  and 
next  he's  himself.  No.  I  don't  think  that  you've 
much  chance  of  buying  back  the  island,  but  you've 
no  chance  at  all  of  marrying  the  girl." 

"I  do  not  want  either  the  one  or  the  other,"  said 
the  King.  "I  do  not  care  the  cursing  of  a  tinker, 
not  a  two-a-penny  damn  if  I  never  put  my  eye  on 
the  island  or  the  girl.  Arrange  which  you  prefer. 
I  place  both  into  your  hands,  my  dear  Gorman.  I 
leave  them  there.  I  shall  put  my  foot  on  the  bill 
if  you  buy  and  the  price  is  moderate.  I  shall  toe 
the  scratch  if  you  arrange  that  I  lead  the  American 
to  the  altar  of  Hymen.  Settle,  arrange,  fix  down 
which  you  will." 

Gorman  gasped.  He  was  always  ready  to  give 
disinterested  advice  in  the  King's  affairs.  He  was 
even  willing  to  lend  a  helping  hand  in  times  of  diffi- 
culty; but  he  was  startled  at  being  asked  to  act  as 
plenipotentiary  for  the  sale  of  a  kingdom  or  the 
negotiation  of  a  royal  marriage. 

"Do  you  mean  to  say,"  he  said,  "that  you  expect 
me  to  arrange  the  whole  thing?" 

"You  have  tumbled  to  the  idea  with  precision," 
said  the  King.  "You  have  caught  it  on.  You  are 
wonderful,  my  friend.  Thus  everything  arranges. 
You  go  to  Salissa  and  tell  the  American  the  wishes 
of  the  Emperor.  Corinne  and  I  return  to  Paris. 
If  a  sale  is  arranged " 


138  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"I  will  not  part  with  my  pearls,"  said  Madame. 
"Neither  for  the  Emperor  nor  for  any  one." 

"Corinne !"  said  the  King  reproachfully.  "Would 
I  ask  it  of  you?  No.  If  a  sale  is  arranged  I  give 
a  bill  to  the  American,  a  bill  of  three  months,  and 
for  security  I  place  at  his  disposal — I  pledge  the 
revenue  of  Megalia  for  ten  years;  for  a  hundred 
years.  If  it  seems  more  desirable  that  I  marry; 
good,  I,  am  ready.  The  American  girl  comes  to 
Paris.  I  meet  her.  We  marry.  The  Emperor  is 
satisfied.  It  is  upon  you,  my  dear  Gorman,  to  fix 
it  down." 

"I  don't  see,"  said  Gorman,  "how  I  can  possibly 
undertake It's  asking  a  lot,  you  know.  Be- 
sides  " 

"You  are  my  friend,"  said  the  King.  "Can  I 
ask  more  than  too  much  from  my  friend  ?" 

"Besides,"  said  Gorman,  "it's  no  kind  of  use. 
Donovan  isn't  likely  to  sell.  He  certainly  wouldn't 
accept  your  bill  if  he  did  sell.  And  marrying  the 
girl  is  out  of  the  question.  What's  the  good  of  my 
undertaking  impossibilities  ?" 

The  King  stood  up.  With  his  cigar  between  his 
fingers  he  raised  his  right  hand  above  his  head. 
He  laid  his  left  hand  upon  his  shirt  front.  It  was 
an  impressive  and  heroic  attitude. 

"For  Gorman,  M.P.,"  he  said,  "there  are  in  the 
world  no  impossibilities.  For  his  talents  all  careers 
are  open  doors.  When  Gorman,  M.P.,  says  'I  do 

it,'  the  damned  thing  at  once  is  done.  I  offer 

But  no.  I  do  not  offer  where  I  trust- I  confer 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  139 

upon  Gorman,  M.P.,  the  Order  of  the  Royal  Pink 
Vulture  of  Megalia,  First  Class.  You  are  Knight 
Commander,  my  friend.  You  are  also  Count  Gor- 
man if  you  wish." 

Madame  Yysilante  slipped  from  her  chair  and 
knelt  down  at  Gorman's  feet.  She  took  his  right 
hand  and  kissed  it  with  every  appearance  of  fer- 
vour. 

"You  will  do  it,"  she  said,  "for  the  sake  of 
Konrad  Karl.  Oh,  Sir  Gorman,  M.P.,  you  would 
do  it  at  once  if  you  understood.  Poor  Konrad! 
He  is  having  so  much  delight  with  me  in  Paris. 
This  time  only  in  our  lives  it  has  come  to  us  to  have 
enough  money  and  to  be  in  Paris.  It  is  cruel — 
so  cruel  that  the  Emperor  should  say :  'No.  Give 
back  the  money.  Go  from  Paris.  Be  starved.  Have 
no  pearls,  no  joy.'  But  you  will  save  us.  Say  you 
will  save  us." 

Gorman's  position  was  an  exceedingly  difficult 
one.  Madame  Ypsilante  had  firm  hold  on  his  hand. 
She  was  kissing  it  at  the  moment.  He  was  not  at 
all  sure  that  she  would  not  bite  it  if  he  refused 
her  request. 

"I'll  think  the  whole  thing  over,"  he  said.  "I 
don't  expect  I  can  do  anything,  but  I'll  look  into 
the  matter  and  let  you  know." 

Madame  mouthed  his  hand  in  a  frenzy  of  grati- 
tude. She  wept  copiously.  Gorman  could  feel  drops 
which  he  supposed  to  be  tears  trickling  down  the 
inside  of  his  sleeve.  The  King  seized  his  other 
hand  and  shook  it  heartily. 


i4o  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"It  is  now  as  good  as  done,"  he  said.  "Let  us 
drink  to  success.  I  ring  the  bell.  I  order  cham- 
pagne, one  bottle,  two  bottles,  three,  many  bottles 
in  the  honour  of  my  friend  Sir  Gorman  who  has 
said :  'Damn  it,  I  will.'  " 

Under  the  influence  of  the  second  bottle  of 
champagne  the  King  escaped  from  his  heroic  mood. 
Gorman  began  to  realize  that  a  certain  cunning 
lay  behind  the  preposterous  proposal  he  had  listened 
to. 

"I  shall  inform  the  Emperor,"  said  the  King, 
"that  you  go  to  Salissa  to  arrange  according  to  his 
wish.  I  shall  say :  'M.P.  Count  Sir  Gorman  goes. 
He  is  a  statesman,  a  financier,  a  diplomat,  a  man 
of  uncommon  sense.'  The  Emperor  will  then  be 
satisfied." 

"He'll  probably  be  very  dissatisfied  when  I  come 
back,"  said  Gorman. 

"That  will  be — let  me  consider — perhaps  eight 
weeks.  In  eight  weeks  many  things  may  happen. 
And  if  not,  still  Corinne  and  I  will  have  had  eight 
weeks  in  Paris  with  oof  which  we  can  burn.  It  is 
something." 


CHAPTER   XIII 

IN  the  end  Gorman  made  up  his  mind  to  go  to 
Salissa.  I  do  not  suppose  that  the  King's  gift 
of  the  Order  of  the  Pink  Vulture  had  much  to  do 
with  his  decision.  Nor  do  I  think  that  he  went  out 
of  pure  kindness  of  heart,  in  order  to  give  Konrad 
Karl  and  Madame  Ypsilante  eight  weeks  of  unal- 
loyed delight  in  Paris.  I  know  that  he  never  had 
the  slightest  intention  of  trying  to  persuade  Dono- 
van to  part  with  the  island,  and — Gorman  has  not 
much  conscience,  but  he  has  some — nothing  would 
have  induced  him  to  suggest  a  marriage  between 
Miss  Daisy  and  the  disreputable  King.  He  went  to 
Salissa  because  that  island  seemed  in  a  fair  way  to 
become  a  very  interesting  place. 

On  the  very  evening  of  Gorman's  dinner  with  the 
King  I  happened  to  meet  Sir  Bartholomew  Bland- 
Potterton  at  another,  a  much  duller  dinner  party. 
Sir  Bartholomew  was  not  yet  Secretary  of  State  for 
Balkan  Problems,  but  he  was  well  known  as  an 
authority  on  the  Near  East,  and  was  in  constant 
unofficial  touch  with  the  Foreign  Office.  He  is 
a  big  man  in  his  way,  and  I  was  rather  surprised 
when  he  buttonholed  me  after  the  ladies  had  left 
the  room.  I  am  not  a  big  man  in  any  way. 
141 


I42  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"Do  you  happen  to  know  a  man  called  Gorman  ?" 
he  asked. 

"Yes,"  I  said,  "Michael  Gorman.  I've  met  him. 
In  fact,  I  know  him  pretty  well." 

"Nationalist  M.P.?" 

"Sits  for  Upper  Offaly,"  I  said.  "Can't  blame 
him  for  that.  Four  hundred  a  year  is  something 
these  times." 

"Bit  of  a  blackguard,  I  suppose?  All  those  fel- 
lows are." 

Now,  an  Irishman  can  call  another  Irishman  a 
blackguard  without  offence.  We  know  each  other 
intimately  and  are  fond  of  strong  language,  but  we 
do  not  like  being  called  blackguards  by  Englishmen. 
They  do  not  understand  us  and  never  will.  Sir 
Bartholomew's  description  of  Gorman  was  in  bad 
taste  and  I  resented  it.  However,  there  was  no  use 
trying  to  explain  our  point  of  view.  You  cannot 
explain  anything  to  that  kind  of  Englishman. 

"He's  a  Member  of  Parliament,"  I  said,  "of  your 
own  English  Parliament.  I  believe  that  all  mem- 
bers are  honourable  gentlemen." 

Sir  Bartholomew  is  a  wonderful  man.  He  actu- 
ally took  that  remark  of  mine  as  a  testimonial  to 
Gorman's  character.  The  thing  is  almost  incredible, 
but  he  evidently  felt  that  the  word  honourable,  as 
officially  used,  had  a  meaning  something  like  that 
of  trustworthy. 

"I  wonder,"  said  Sir  Bartholomew,  "if  he's  a 
man  to  whom  one  could  talk  safely  on  a  rather 
confidential  subject?" 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  143 

"There's  always  supposed  to  be  a  kind  of  hon- 
our among  thieves,"  I  said. 

I  was  still  rather  nettled  by  the  contemptuous 
assumption  that  Gorman  must  be  a  blackguard 
simply  because  he  is  an  Irish  Nationalist.  After 
all,  Sir  Bartholomew's  own  profession  is  not  a  very 
respectable  one.  He  is  a  diplomatist,  and  diplo- 
macy is  simply  the  name  we  have  agreed  to  give 
to  lying  about  national  affairs.  I  cannot  see  that 
Sir  Bartholomew  has  any  right  to  take  up  a  high 
moral  tone  when  speaking  of  Gorman  or  any  other 
Member  of  Parliament,  Irish  or  English. 

"I'll  look  up  the  man  to-morrow,"  said  Sir  Bar- 
tholomew. "I  daresay  I'll  find  him  in  the  House 
of  Commons  during  the  afternoon." 

Sir  Bartholomew  gave  me  no  hint  about  the 
nature  of  his  confidential  business.  I  suppose  he 
did  not  feel  I  could  be  trusted.  However,  Gorman 
told  me  all  about  it  next  day. 

Sir  Bartholomew  came  on  Gorman  in  the  smok- 
ing-room of  the  House  of  Commons.  He  was 
wearing,  so  Gorman  assures  me,  the  very  best  kind 
of  official  manner,  that  interesting  mixture  of 
suavity  and  pomposity  with  which  our  mandarins 
approach  the  public.  They  hope,  in  this  way,  to 
induce  us  to  believe  that  they  have  benevolent-  dis- 
positions and  immense  ability.  I  do  not  know 
whether  any  one  is  ever  deceived  by  this  manner 
or  thinks  of  a  mandarin  otherwise  than  as  a  for- 
tunate person  who  earns  a  large  salary  by  being 
stupid.  Certainly  Gorman  was  not  in  the  very 


144  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

least  impressed.  Being  an  Irishman,  Gorman 
knows  the  official  class  thoroughly.  Ireland  is  a 
kind  of  laboratory  for  the  culture  of  the  mandarin 
bacillus. 

"May  I,"  said  Sir  Bartholomew,  "intrude  on 
your  time,  and  ask  you  one  or  two  questions  on 
a  matter  of  some  little  importance?" 

Gorman  had  no  objection  to  being  asked  ques- 
tions. Whether  he  would  answer  them  or  not  was 
another  matter. 

"I  think,"  said  Sir  Bartholomew,  "that  you 
know  King  Konrad  Karl  of  Megalia." 

That  was  not  a  question,  so  Gorman  gave  no 
answer.  He  merely  puffed  at  his  pipe  which  was 
not  drawing  well  and  looked  at  Sir  Bartholomew's 
round  plump  face. 

"A  rather  wild  young  man,"  said  Sir  Bartholo- 
mew. "Dissipated  would  perhaps  be  too  strong  a 
word.  What  do  you  think?" 

"It  is  a  strongish  word,"  said  Gorman. 

Sir  Bartholomew  tried  another  cast. 

"Mr.  Donovan  is  a  friend  of  yours,  I  think/'  he 
said,  "and  his  daughter?" 

"I've  met  them,"  said  Gorman. 

Sir  Bartholomew  realized  that  he  was  not  getting 
on  very  fast  with  Gorman.  He  relapsed  a  little 
from  his  high  official  manner  and  adopted  a  con- 
fidential tone. 

"There  has  been  a  certain  amount  of  talk  in 
diplomatic,  or  shall  we  say  semi-diplomatic  circles, 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  145 

about  King  Konrad  Karl,  mere  gossip,  of  course, 
but " 

"I  never  listen  to  gossip,"  said  Gorman. 

This  was  untrue.  Gorman  listens  to  all  the 
gossip  he  can  and  enjoys  it  thoroughly. 

Sir  Bartholomew  found  it  necessary  to  unbend 
a  little  more.  He  unbuttoned,  so  to  speak,  the  two 
bottom  buttons  of  the  waistcoat  of  pomposity 
which  he  wore. 

"I  was  told  a  story  the  other  day,"  he  said. 
"Perhaps  I'd  better  not  mention  tjie  name  of  my 
informant;  but  there  can  be  no  harm  in  saying 
that  he  is  one  of  the  attaches  of  the  Embassy  of 
a  great  Power,  a  friendly  Power." 

I  expect  Sir  Bartholomew  thought  this  way  of 
talking  would  impress  Gorman.  It  impresses  most 
people.  Your  story  has  a  much  better  chance  of 
being  believed  and  repeated  if  you  tell  it  on  the 
authority  of  some  one  unnamed  and  vaguely  de- 
scribed than  it  has  if  you  merely  say  "young  Smith, 
the  cashier  in  my  bank,  told  me  to-day,  that  .  .  ." 

"I  am  alluding,"  said  Sir  Bartholomew,  "to  a 
report  that  has  reached  us  of  an  escapade  of  Miss 
Donovan's.  That  young  lady — very  charming  I'm 
sure — and  her  father's  immensely  rich,  but — well, 
you  know  what  young  girls  are." 

"Got  engaged  to  a  Royal  Duke?"  said  Gorman, 
"or  run  away  with  the  chauffeur?" 

"Oh  no,  nothing  of  that  sort.  Not  at  all.  The 
statement  with  which  I'm  concerned  is  that  her 
father  has  bought  an  island  and  some  kind  of  title 


[46  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

for  her  from  that  unfortunate  young  King  of 
Megalia." 

"So  long  as  he  paid  for  it,"  said  Gorman,  "I 
don't  see  that  it's  anybody  else's  business." 

"You  don't  understand,"  said  Sir  Bartholomew. 

"I  haven't  made  myself  clear.  The  fact  is " 

He  sank  his  voice  to  an  awed  whisper.  "The  young 
lady  is  understood  to  claim  sovereign  rights  over 
the  Island  of  Salissa.  She  calls  herself — it's  almost 
incredible,  but  she  calls  herself  a  queen." 

"Well,"  said  Gorman,  "why  shouldn't  she?" 

"But,  my  dear  sir!  To  set  up  a  new  independent 
kingdom !  In  the  existing  state  of  Balkan  affairs, 

when  the  Great  Powers But  of  course  it  can 

be  nothing  but  a  girlish  joke,  a  piece  of  light-hearted 
playfulness.  She  can't  mean " 

"Then  why  worry?"  said  Gorman.  "Why  should 
you  and  that  attache  of  the  Embassy  of  a  Friendly 
Power,  the  fellow  you've  been  talking  about — why 
should  you  and  he  start  fussing?" 

"My  dear  sir!  my  dear  sir!  Nothing,  I  assure 
you,  is  further  from  our  wishes  than  fuss  of  any 
kind.  But  unfortunately,  the  Emperor — the  Em- 
peror— I  respect  and  admire  him,  of  course.  We 
all  do.  But  if  the  Emperor  has  a  fault  it  is  that  he's 
slightly  deficient  in  humour.  He  does  not  easily 
see  a  joke.  He's  a  little — well " 

"Elephantine?"   said  Gorman. 

Sir  Bartholomew  looked  round  hurriedly.  The 
Division  bell  had  just  rung.  The  smoking-room 
was  almost  empty.  This  was  fortunate.  It  would 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  147 

have  been  very  awkward  for  a  man  in  Sir  Barthol- 
omew's position  to  be  caught  in  the  act  of  hearing 
an  Emperor  called  elephantine. 

"The  Emperor,"  said  Sir  Bartholomew,  "has 
approached  the  United  States  Ambassador  on  the 
subject,  indirectly,  I  need  scarcely  say.  He  requests, 
indeed  insists  that  Salissa  shall  at  once  be  restored 
to  the  Crown  of  Megalia.  Now  our  idea  is — and  I 
think  I  know  the  views  of  the  Foreign  Office  on  the 
subject — our  idea  is  that  this  little  matter  ought 
to  be  settled  unofficially.  A  word  to  Mr.  Donovan 
from  a  friend.  A  hint  about  the  present  critical 
condition  of  European  politics.  He  might " 

"I  don't  suppose,"  said  Gorman,  "that  Donovan 
cares  a  damn  about  European  politics." 

Sir  Bartholomew's  eyebrows  went  up  in  shocked 
surprise. 

"It  is  of  the  first  importance,"  he  said,  "of  abso- 
lutely vital  importance  that  at  the  present  moment, 
standing  as  we  do,  as  all  Europe  stands  to-day, 
on  the  verge  of  the  smouldering  crater  of  a 
volcano " 

"This  is  the  House  of  Commons,  of  course,"  said 
Gorman,  "so  I  suppose  you  can  talk  that  kind  of 
language  if  you  like.  But  we  don't  usually  do  it 
in  the  smoking-room." 

Sir  Bartholomew  had  not  attained  to  the  eminent 
position  he  occupied  without  learning  a  few  lessons 
in  tact.  He  changed  his  tone  at  once. 

"The  fact  is,"  he  said,  "that  just  at  present  we 
all  want  to  avoid  friction  with  the  Emperor." 


148  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"Ah,"  said  Gorman,  "and  your  idea  is ?" 

"Mr.  Donovan  must  be  persuaded  to  give  up  that 
island.  Pressure  could  be  put  on  him,  of  course,  by 
his  own  Government  and  by  ours.  His  position  is 
preposterous.  He  can't  set  his  daughter  up  as  a 
European  sovereign  simply  by  writing  a  cheque. 
But  we  don't  want — nobody  wants  any  publicity 
or  scandal.  If  Mr.  Donovan  would  agree,  privately, 
to  resign  all  claim  on  Salissa " 

"Why  not  ask  him?" 

Sir  Bartholomew's  manner  became  most  ingra- 
tiating. 

"We  feel  that  the  good  offices  of  a  mutual  friend, 
some  one  who  occupies  no  official  position,  some  one 

unconnected  with  the  Foreign  Office In  short, 

Mr.  Gorman,  would  you  undertake  this  rather 
delicate  mission?" 

"Why  the  devil  do  you  hit  on  me  for  the  job?" 

"Ah,"  said  Sir  Bartholomew,  smiling,  "you  see 
we  all  know  something  about  you,  Mr.  Gorman. 
Your  business  ability,  your  unfailing  tact, 
your " 

"Taken  as  read,"  said  Gorman. 

Sir  Bartholomew  cannot  possibly  have  liked 
Gorman's  manner.  No  public  men  discuss  serious 
and  confidential  matters  with  this  kind  of  flippancy. 
But  he  had  been  obliged  to  meet  even  more  dis- 
concerting people  in  the  Balkans.  He  prided  him- 
self on  being  able  to  negotiate  with  men  of  any 
manners  or  none. 

"Knowing  the  work  you  have  done  for  youi 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  149 

party  in  America,"  he  went  on,  "knowing  your 
friendship  with  the  Donovans  and  your  acquaint- 
ance with  the  King  of  Megalia,  it  seemed  to  us — 
not  to  me,  you  know.  I  don't  really  matter.  It 
seemed  to  us  that  you  were  the  best  possible  per- 
son." 

"I  see.  Well,  supposing  I  undertake  the  job, 
what  am  I  to  say  to  Donovan?  He's  paid  a  big 
price  for  that  island.  Is  he  to  get  his  money 
back?" 

"Of  course,  of  course.  No  one  expects  Mr. 
Donovan  to  make  any  financial  sacrifice." 

"Who's  going  to  pay?" 

"The  King.     King  Konrad  Karl." 

"That  King,"  said  Gorman,  "isn't  very  good  at 
paying." 

"In  this  case  he  will  have  no  choice.  The 
Emperor  will  insist  on  his  paying." 

"The  Emperor  is  a  powerful  man,"  said  Gorman, 
"but  even  he  would  hardly  be  able  to  make  King 
Konrad  Karl  fork  out  what  he  hasn't  got.  You 
may  safely  bet  your  last  shilling  that  most  of  what 
Donovan  paid  for  that  island  is  spent,  chucked 
away,  gone  scat." 

"The  Emperor,"  said  Sir  Bartholomew,  "will  be 
responsible  for  the  return  in  full  of  the  purchase 
price." 

"Very  well,"  said  Gorman,  "and  now  suppose 
Donovan  won't  sell.  Suppose  he  simply  says 
'No/  " 

"There  is  an  alternative  policy,"  said  Sir  Bar- 


150  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

tholomew.  "It  has  occurred  to  some  of  us  who 
are  interested  in  the  matter — I  am  not  now  speaking 
with  the  authority  of  any  ambassador,  certainly  not 
with  the  formal  approval  of  our  Foreign  Office. 
It  has  occurred  to  me — I  will  put  it  that  way.  It 
has  occurred  to  me  that  the  matter  might  be  settled 
quite  satisfactorily  to  all  parties,  to  the  Emperor 

certainly  if The  King  of  Megalia  is,  I  think, 

unmarried." 

"There's  Madame  Ypsilante,"  said  Gorman,  "a 
lady " 

"A  lady!  Pooh!  In  these  cases  there  is  always 
a  lady.  But  the  King  is  unmarried.  Miss  Dono- 
van, so  we  understand,  wishes  to  be  a  queen.  You 
catch  my  meaning?" 

"Perfectly.  You  want  me  to  arrange  a  marriage 
between " 

"My  dear  Mr.  Gorman!  I  want  nothing  of  the 
sort.  I  do  not  ask  you  to  arrange  anything.  I 
merely  say  that  if  such  a  marriage  were  to  take 
place  the  Emperor  would  probably  be  satisfied.  I 
am  aware  that  the  personal  character  of  King 

Konrad  Karl  is  not  such But  he  is  a  young 

man.  There  are  possibilities  of  improvement." 

"There's  certainly  room  for  it." 

"Exactly.  And  the  influence  of  a  good  woman 
is  just  what  is  needed.  A  young,  sweet,  innocent 
girl  has  a  marvellous  influence.  She  appeals  to 
that  best  which  is  present  even  in  the  worst  of 
us."  Sir  Bartholomew  liked  this  phrase.  He  re- 
peated it.  "That  best,  that  astonishing  best,  which 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  151 

is  always  present  even  in  the  worst  of  us.  She 
might  call  it  out.  She  might  make  a  new  man  of 
King  Konrad  Karl." 

Gorman  looked  at  Sir  Bartholomew  with  an 
expression  of  grave  and  interested  inquiry. 

"You  think  that  if  Miss  Donovan  married  the 
King  she  would  save  him  from  the  clutches  of 
Madame  Ypsilante." 

"Not  a  doubt  of  it.  And  what  a  splendid  thing 
that  would  be !  It's  just  the  sort  of  an  idea  which 
would  make  a  strong  appeal  to  a  girl.  Women  like 
the  idea  of  reforming  their  husbands.  Besides,  the 
prospect  for  her  is  in  other  respects  most  brilliant. 
She  would  be  recognized  by  the  Emperor.  She 
would  be  received  in  the  most  exclusive  Courts  of 
Europe.  But  I  need  not  expatiate.  You  under- 
stand the  position." 

"I  don't  remember  any  case  of  an  American 
heiress  marrying  a  king,"  said  Gorman. 

"Just  so.  This  would  be  unique,  splendid.  And 
I  need  not  say,  Mr.  Gorman,  that  if  you  see  your 
way  to  oblige  us  in  this  matter  your  services  will 
not  go  unrecognized.  If  there  is  any  particular 
way  in  which  you  would  like  us  to  show  our  appre- 
ciation you  have  only  to  mention  it.  The  next 
Honours  List " 

"All  right,"  said  Gorman,  "I'll  go.  Where  is 
Salissa?" 

"In  the  Cyrenian  Sea.  It's  an  island.  Quite 
charming,  I  believe.  I  am  sure  you  will  enjoy  the 
trip.  Your  bet  plan  will  be  to  see  Steinwitz  about 


152  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

the  matter.     Steinwitz  is  managing  director " 

"Quite  so.  I  know  him.  Cyrenian  Sea  Steam 
Navigation  Company." 

"His  ships  go  there,"  said  Sir  Bartholomew.  "I 
have  no  doubt  that  he  will  arrange  for  you  to  make 
the  voyage  comfortably.  I  may  mention,  between 
ourselves,  that  Steinwitz  is  interested  in  the  success 
of  the  negotiations." 

"Acting  for  the  Emperor?" 

"Well,  yes.  Unofficially.  He  is  in  a  certain 
sense  the  agent  of  the  Emperor." 

"All  right,"  said  Gorman.  "I'll  see  him.  And 
if  I  pull  the  thing  off  I  may  count  on ?" 

"You  may  ask  for  what  you  like,"  said  Sir  Bar- 
tholomew. "You've  only  got  to  drop  me  a  hint. 
Anything  in  reason.  A  knighthood?  Or  a  baron- 
etcy? I  think  we  could  manage  a  baronetcy.  A 
post  in  the  Government?  A  Civil  List  pension? 
Your  services  to  literature  fully  entitle  you " 

"On  the  whole,"  said  Gorman,  "I  think  I'll  ask 
for  Home  Rule  for  Ireland." 

"Ah,"  said  Sir  Bartholomew,  "you  Irish !  Always 
witty!  Always  sparkling,  paradoxical,  brilliant!  I 
shall  tell  the  Prime  Minister  what  you  say.  He'll 
enjoy  it.  What  should  we  do  without  you  Irish? 
Life  would  be  dull  indeed.  What  is  it  the  poet  says? 
Wordsworth,  I  think.  'Turning  to  mirth,  All 
things  of  earth,  As  only  boyhood  can.'  You  are 
all  boys.  That  is  why  we  love  you.  Your  fresh- 
ness. Your  delightful  capacity  for  the  absurd.  I 
feel  that  in  choosing  you  for  this  delicate  mission 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  153 

we  have  chosen  the  right  man.  Only  an  Irishman 
could  hope  to  succeed  in  an  affair  of  this  kind. 
Good-bye,  Mr.  Gorman,  and  be  sure  to  let  me  know 
in  good  time  what  we  are  to  do  for  you.  I'll  charge 
myself  with  seeing  that  your  claim  is  not  over- 
looked." 


CHAPTER   XIV 

T'M  going,  of  course,"  said  Gorman.  "The  whole 
•*•  thing  is  interesting,  quite  exciting." 

He  had  just  given  me  a  detailed  account  of  his 
interview  with  Sir  Bartholomew  Bland-Potterton, 
and  a  rather  picturesque  version  of  the  way  King 
Konrad  Karl  presented  his  case. 

"Do  you  expect,"  I  said,  "to  be  able  to  persuade 
Donovan  to  sell?" 

"Of  course  not,"  said  Gorman.  "I  don't  even 
mean  to  try." 

"Gorman,"  I  said,  "I'm  accustomed  more  or  less 
to  political  morality,  I  mean  the  morality  of  poli- 
ticians. I  recognize — everybody  must  recognize — 
that  you  can't  be  expected  to  tie  yourselves  down  to 
the  ordinary  standards.  But " 

"What  are  you  talking  about?" 

"Oh,  nothing  much.  Only  you've  accepted  a 
Pink  "Vulture  from  Megalia  and  a  baronetcy  from 
England  as  a  reward  for  services  you  don't  mean  to 
render.  Now  is  that  quite — quite ?" 

Gorman  looked  at  me  for  a  minute  without  speak- 
ing. There  was  a  peculiar  twinkle  in  his  eyes. 

"If  I  were  you,"  he  said  at  last,  "I'd  go  back  to 
Ireland  for  a  while.  Try  Dublin.  You  have  been 
'54 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  155 

too  long  over  here.  You  wouldn't  say  things  like 
that  if  you  weren't  becoming  English." 

I  accepted  the  rebuke.  Gorman  was  perfectly 
right.  In  English  public  life  it  is  necessary  to  pro- 
fess a  respect  for  decency,  to  make  aprons  of  fig 
leaves.  In  Ireland  we  do  without  these  coverings. 

"I  shouldn't  wonder,"  said  Gorman,  "if  I  got 
some  sort  of  decoration  out  of  the  Emperor  too 
before  I'm  through  with  this  business.  Once  these 
ribbons  and  stars  begin  to  drop  on  a  man,  they 
come  thick  and  fast,  kind  of  attract  each  other,  I 
suppose.  I  wonder,"  he  added  with  sudden  irrel- 
evancy, "what  the  Emperor's  game  is.  That's  what 
I've  been  trying  to  make  out  all  along.  Why  is  he 
in  it?" 

"He  wants  the  Island  of  Salissa  restored  to  the 
Crown  of  Megalia,"  I  said.  "You've  been  told 
that  often  enough." 

"Yes,  but  why?  Why?  The  island  isn't  worth 
having.  As  well  as  I  can  make  out  it's  simply  a 
rock  with  a  little  clay  sprinkled  on  top  of  it.  What 
can  it  matter  to  the  Emperor  who  owns  the  place? 
It  isn't  as  if  it  were  his  originally  or  as  if  it  would 
become  his.  It  belongs  to  Megalia.  With  all  the 
fuss  that's  being  made  you'd  think  there  was  a 
gold  mine  there." 

The  puzzle  became  more  complicated  and  Gor- 
man's curiosity  was  further  whetted  before  he 
started  for  Salissa.  After  leaving  my  rooms  he 
went  to  Cockspur  Street  and  called  at  the  office  of 
the  Cyrenian  Sea  Steam  Navigation  Company. 


156  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

Steinwitz  was  expecting  him  and  received  him  in 
the  most  friendly  manner. 

"Sir  Bartholomew  Bland-Potterton,"  said  Stein- 
witz, "rang  me  up  this  morning,  and  told  me  that 
you'd  undertaken  our  little  negotiation.  I  need 
scarcely  say  that  we're  quite  satisfied.  We  feel " 

"By  we,"  said  Gorman,  "you  mean  yourself  and 
the  Emperor,  I  suppose.  Now  what  I  want  to 
know  is  this:  Why  is  the  Emperor  so  keen 

Steinwitz  waved  that  question  away  with  a 
motion  of  his  hand. 

"I  do  not  discuss  the  policy  of  the  Emperor,"  he 
said. 

"You  must  be  the  only  man  in  Europe  who 
doesn't,"  said  Gorman.  "However,  I  don't  mind. 
I  suppose  the  Emperor  must  have  some  pretty 
strong  reasons  for  wanting  to  get  Donovan  out  of 
Salissa,  or  he  wouldn't  offer  to  pay  a  fancy  price- 
it  was  a  fancy  price,  you  know." 

"King  Konrad  Karl  will  pay,"  said  Steinwitz. 

"No,  he  won't.  He  can't.  He  hasn't  got  it. 
There's  a  cool  ten  thousand  gone  on  a  pearl  neck* 
lace,  as  well  as " 

"Goldsturmer  is  prepared  to  buy  back  the  neck' 
lace,"  said  Steinwitz.  "I  have  arranged  that." 

"Well,"  said  Gorman,  "it's  your  affair,  of  course. 
But  I  wouldn't  be  too  sure.  I  don't  think  Madame 
Ypsilante  will  sell  "at  any  price." 

"Madame  Ypsilante  will  do  what  she  must,"  said 
Steinwitz.  "The  Emperor " 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  157 

"I  don't  envy  the  Emperor  the  job  of  tackling 
her,"  said  Gorman.  "He  won't  find  it  a  bit 
pleasant.  I  daresay  he  doesn't  know  Madame 
Ypsilante.  He  wouldn't  be  so  cocksure  of  himself 
if  he  did.  She's  the  kind  of  woman  who  throws 
things  about  if  she's  the  least  irritated.  If  the 
Emperor  suggests  her  selling  those  jewels  there'll 
be  a  riot.  But  it's  no  business  of  mine.  If  that 
Emperor  of  yours  really  enjoys  a  rag  with  a  woman 
like  Madame  Ypsilante — I  should  have  thought  a 
man  in  his  position  wouldn't  care  to  be  mixed  up 
in  the  sort  of  scene  there  will  certainly  be." 

Steinwitz  stiffened  visibly.  His  hair  always 
stands  upright  on  his  head.  It  actually  bristled 
while  Gorman  was  speaking. 

"I  do  not,"  he  said,  "discuss  the  Emperor  in  that 
way.  It  is  enough  for  you  to  know  this.  Madame 
Ypsilante  will  sell.  Goldsturmer  will  buy.  I  myself 
will  settle  these  matters." 

Gorman  was  enjoying  himself  greatly.  Nothing 
in  the  world  gives  him  more  pleasure  than  inter- 
course with  a  man  who  takes  himself  seriously. 
Steinwitz  was  a  real  delight.  He  was  solemnly  and 
ponderously  serious  about  himself.  He  was  pon- 
tifical about  the  Emperor. 

"Goldsturmer,"  said  Gorman,  "is  a  Jew,  and  the 
Jews  are  a  cautious  race.  However,  if  you  go  to 
him  and  say  'The  Emperor'  in  an  Open  Sesame 
tone  of  voice  he'll  no  doubt  give  in  at  once." 

"Exactly,"  said  Steinwitz  gravely. 

Gorman   collapsed   then.     Steinwitz,   portentous 


158  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

solemnity  was  too  much  for  him.  Sticking  pins 
into  a  man  or  an  ape  is  a  pleasant  sport.  They  have 
skins  of  reasonable  density.  It  is  dull  work  prick- 
ing a  rhinoceros,  even  with  a  rapier. 

"About  going  to  Salissa,"  he  said  meekly.  "Can 
you  manage  to  send  me  there?" 

"Certainly,"  said  Steinwitz.  "How  soon  can  you 
start?" 

"At  once,"  said  Gorman.  "I'll  buy  a  tooth- 
brush on  my  way  to  the  steamer.  I  realize  that  I 
must  waste  no  time  when  conducting  business  for 
the  Emperor." 

"That  is  so,"  said  Steinwitz,  "but  you  cannot 
start  before  to-morrow.  To-morrow  at  9  a.m.  the 
Ida  leaves  Tilbury.  She  is  the  steamer  which  Mr. 
Donovan  chartered  from  us.  She  returns  to  the 
island  according  to  his  orders.  If  you  care  to  sail 
on  her " 

Steinwitz  took  up  the  receiver  of  the  telephone 
which  stood  on  his  desk. 

"Is  Captain  Wilson  in  the  office?"  he  called. 
"Captain  Wilson  of  the  Ida.  Oh,  he's  not,  but 
Mr.  Phillips  is.  Very  well.  Ask  Mr.  Phillips  to 
come  up  and  speak  to  me  here.  Mr.  Phillips,"  he 
explained  to  Gorman,  "is  first  officer  on  the  Ida. 
I  shall  give  him  orders  to  be  ready  for  you  to- 
morrow." 

There  was  a  brisk  tap  at  the  door.  Phillips 
walked  in. 

"Mr.  Phillips,"  said  Steinwitz,  "Mr.  Gorman 
will  sail  with  you  to-morrow  on  the  Ida.  You  will 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  159 

see  that  a  cabin  is  prepared  for  him,  and  tell  Cap- 
tain Wilson,  with  my  compliments,  that  Mr.  Gorman 
is  to  be  made  as  comfortable  as  possible.  If  there 
are  any  particular  directions  you'd  like  to  give,  Mr. 
Gorman " 

"I  prefer  Irish  to  Scotch,"  said  Gorman,  "but  I 
don't  insist  on  it" 

"Irish  ?  Scotch  ?"  said  Steinwitz.  "Ah,  yes, 
whisky,  of  course.  Make  a  note  of  that,  if  you 
please,  Mr.  Phillips." 

"And  I  detest  tinned  salmon,"  said  Gorman. 

"You  need  not  be  uneasy,"  said  Steinwitz.  "On 
our  ships  no  passenger  is  ever  asked  to  eat  tinned 
salmon.  As  the-  guest  of  the  company " 

"Of  the  Emperor/'  said  Gorman. 

He  deliberately  winked  at  Phillips  when  he  men- 
tioned the  Emperor.  Phillips  has  a  nice,  round, 
sun-burned  face,  clear  eyes  and  curly  hair.  Gor- 
man felt  that  it  would  be  easy  to  make  friends  with 
him.  Phillips  laughed  and  then  checked  himself 
abruptly.  He  saw  no  joke  in  a  reference  to  the  Em- 
peror, but  Gorman's  wink  appealed  to  him  strongly. 
Steinwitz  frowned. 

"That  will  do,  Mr.  Phillips,"  he  said. 

He  turned  to  Gorman  when  the  young  man  left 
the  room. 

"You  will  let  me  hear  from  you,"  he  said.  "I 
shall  expect  a  letter.  The  Ida  will,  no  doubt, 
return  after  she  is  unloaded.  You  can  give  your 
letters  to  Captain  Wilson." 


160  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"I  suppose  there's  no  other  way  of  sending  let- 
ters?" 

"A  coasting  steamer,  perhaps,"  said  Steinwitz, 
"or  a  fishing  boat  might  put  in  at  the  island;  but 
the  Ida  will  be  your  best  means  of  communicating 
with  me." 

"All  right,"  said  Gorman.  "I'll  let  you  know 
how  things  go  on.  But  don't  be  too  sanguine. 
Donovan  may  refuse  to  sell." 

He  rose  to  go  as  he  spoke.  Steinwitz  made  one 
more  remark  before  the  interview  closed. 

"One  way  or  other,"  he  said,  "I  hear  very 
often  from  the  island." 

The  words  were  spoken  in  a  colourless  tone ;  but 
Gorman  felt  vaguely  that  they  were  a  kind  of 
threat.  Steinwitz  said  that  he  heard  frequently 
from  the  island.  Gorman  thought  the  statement 
over.  Evidently  Steinwitz  had  a  correspondent 
there,  some  one  who  made  use  of  the  Ida,  of  any 
coasting  steamer  which  turned  up,  of  the  fishing 
boats  which  put  in.  Steinwitz  would  not  be  en- 
tirely dependent  on  Gorman's  account  of  his  mis- 
sion. He  would  hear  about  it  from  some  one  else, 
would  know  whether  the  sale  had  been  pressed  on 
Donovan. 

Gorman  left  the  office  a  little  puzzled.  The  threat 
suggested  by  Steinwitz'  last  words  was  veiled  but 
hardly  to  be  mistaken.  It  certainly  seemed  to 
Gorman  that  he  was  to  be  watched  by  some  one 
on  the  island,  his  life  spied  on,  his  actions  reported 
to  this  perfectly  absurd  German  shipowner ;  by  him, 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  161 

«o  doubt,  again  reported  to  the  Emperor.  The 
thing  seemed  almost  too  good  to  be  true.  Gorman, 
himself  a  clever  man,  found  it  difficult  to  believe 
that  another  clever  man — Steinwitz  certainly  had 
brains  of  a  sort — could  possibly  be  such  an  idiot  as 
to  practise  melodrama,  spies,  secret  reports  and  all 
the  rest  of  it,  quite  seriously. 

Gorman  found  himself  wondering  what  on  earth 
Steinwitz  expected  to  learn  from  his  correspondent 
in  Salissa  and  what  use  the  information  would  be 
to  him  when  he  got  it.  Would  Donovan  be  threat^ 
ened  with  the  implacable  wrath  of  the  Emperor? 
Would  he  himself,  Michael  Gorman,  M.P.  for 
Upper  Offaly,  incur  some  awful  penalty  if  he  did 
not  persuade  Donovan  to  sell,  if  he  did  his  best-^ 
he  certainly  meant  to  do  his  best — to  prevent  a 
marriage  between  Miss  Donovan  and  King  Konrad 
Karl?  He  chuckled  with  delight  at  the  prospect 
and  was  more  than  ever  glad  thai  he  had  promised 
to  go  to  Salissa. 

The  voyage  turned  out  to  be  a  very  agreeable 
one.  Captain  Wilson  was  not,  indeed,  a  cheerful 
companion.  He  maintained  the  attitude  of  stiff 
disapproval  with  which  he  had  all  along  regarded 
Salissa  and  everything  connected  with  that  island. 
He  gave  Gorman  to  understand  that  he  meant  to 
do  his  duty  to  his  employers,  to  obey  orders  faith- 
fully, to  carry  ridiculous  things  and  foolish  people 
to  and  fro  between  Salissa  and  England;  but  that 
he  in  no  way  approved  of  the  waste  of  a  good  ship, 
quantities  of  coal  and  the  energies  of  officers  like 


162  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

himself  over  the  silly  fad  of  a  wealthy  young 
woman. 

Phillips,  on  the  other  hand,  was  friendly  from  the 
start.  He  and  Gorman  spent  many  hours  together 
on  the  bridge  or  in  the  cabin.  The  weather  was  fine 
and  warm.  The  Ida  slipped  quietly  across  the  Bay, 
found  calm  days  and  velvety  nights  off  the  coast 
of  Portugal,  carried  her  good  luck  with  her  through 
the  Straits  of  Gibraltar. 

A  much  duller  man  than  Gorman  would  not  have 
failed  to  discover  that  Phillips  was  deeply  in  love 
with  the  young  Queen  of  Salissa.  All  talk  worked 
back  to  her  sooner  or  later.  And  Phillips  became 
eloquent  about  her.  With  na'ive  enthusiasm  he 
praised  her  beauty.  He  raved  about  the  sweetness 
of  her  disposition.  He  struggled  hard  for  words 
which  would  describe  her  incomparable  charm. 

Gorman  says  he  liked  listening  to  the  boy.  He 
himself  has  never  married,  so  far  as  I  know  has 
never  been  in  love.  I  suppose  there  was  a  certain 
freshness  about  Phillips'  raptures.  He  must  have 
been  an  attentive  listener  and  he  must  have  shown 
some  sort  of  sympathy,  for  in  the  end  Phillips  be- 
came very  confidential.  I  daresay,  too,  that  Gor- 
man found  the  whole  thing  highly  amusing  when 
he  recollected  the  Emperor's  plan  of  marrying  Miss 
Donovan  to  King  Konrad  Karl.  Phillips  was  just 
the  sort  of  obstacle  which  would  wreck  the  plan, 
and  the  Emperor  would  never  condescend  to  con- 
sider that  a  subordinate  officer  in  the  British  Mer- 
chant Service  could  be  of  any  importance.  There 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  163 

was  a  flavour  about  the  situation  which  delighted 
Gorman. 

"When  do  you  mean  to  marry  her?"  he  asked, 
one  evening. 

"Marry  her!"  said  Phillips.  "I  never  thought — 

I  mean  I  never  dared  to  hope It  would  be 

such  beastly  cheek,  wouldn't  it?  to  expect " 

He  looked  at  Gorman,  pathetically  anxious  for 
some  crumb  of  encouragement. 

"She's  a  queen,  you  know,"  said  Phillips,  "and  an 

heiress,  and  all  that.  I'm  only I  haven't  a 

penny  in  the  world  except  what  I  earn." 

The  boy  sighed. 

"I  don't  see  why  that  should  stop  you,"  said 
Gorman. 

"Do  you  really  think — I  mean  wouldn't  it  be 
frightful  cheek?  It's  not  only  her  being  a  queen 
and  all  that;  but  other  things.  She's  far  too  good 
for  me  in  every  way.  I'm  not  clever  or  anything  of 
that  kind.  And  then  there's  her  father." 

"I  shouldn't  worry  about  him,  if  I  were  you,"' 
said  Gorman.  "What  you've  got  to  consider  is 
not  the  father  but  the  girl.  If  she's  as  much  in- 
love  with  you  as  you  are  with  her " 

"She  couldn't  possibly  be,"  said  Phillips. 

"I  don't  suppose  she  could,"  said  Gorman. 
"Let's  say  half.  If  she's  half  as  much  in  love  as 
you  are  she'll  manage  the  old  man." 

"I  think "  said  Phillips,  "I  really  think  she 

does  like  me  a  little." 

Then  he  told  Gorman  something,  not  very  much,. 


164  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

about  the  scene  in  the  cave.  He  spoke  in  broken 
sentences.  He  never  quite  completed  any  confi- 
dence, but  Gorman  got  at  something  like  the  facts. 

"If  you've  gone  as  far  as  that,"  he  said.  "If, 

as  I  understand,  you've  kissed  her,  then I 

don't  profess  to  give  an  expert  opinion  in  matters 
of  this  kind,  but  I  think  you  ought  to  ask  her  to 
marry  you.  In  fact,  it  will  be  rather  insulting  if 
you  don't." 

"And  you  really  think  I  have  a  chance?  But 
you  don't  know.  She  might  marry  any  one  in  the 
world.  She's  the  most  beautiful  girl  that  any  one 
has  ever  seen.  Her  eyes " 

Gorman  knew  that  Miss  Daisy  Donovan  was  a 
nice,  fresh-looking,  plump  young  woman  with  no 
particular  claim  to  be  called  beautiful.  He  stopped 
listening.  His  mind  had  suddenly  fixed  on  a  curi- 
ous point  in  Phillips'  story  of  the  scene  in  the  cave. 
He  waited  until  the  boy,  like  Rosalind's  "very  good 
lover,"  was  "gravelled  for  lack  of  matter."  Then 
he  said: 

"Where  did  you  say  that  you  were  when  that 
happened — the  kissing,  I  mean?" 

"In  a  cave,"  said  Phillips.  "In  a  huge  cave.  I 
had  helped  her  to  climb  up  on  to  the  cisterns, 
and " 

"Cisterns!"  said  Gorman.  "What  the  devil  did 
you  put  cisterns  into  a  cave  for?" 

"We  didn't  put  them.  They  were  there.  Gal- 
vanized iron  cisterns.  Huge  things.  Oh,  I  promised 
I  wouldn't  tell  any  one  about  those  cisterns.  They're 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  165 

part  of  the  secret  of  the  island.  The  Queen  made 
me  promise.  I  wish  I  hadn't  told  you." 

"You've  broken  your  promise  now,"  said  Gor- 
man. "You  may  just  as  well  go  on." 

It  took  some  time  to  persuade  Phillips  to  go  on ; 
and  all  Gorman's  sophistries  would  not  induce  the 
boy  to  say  another  word  about  the  cisterns  in  the 
cave.  They  were  the  Queen's  part  of  the  mystery 
of  the  island  and  he  would  not  speak  of  them.  But 
he  did  at  last  confide  in  Gorman  to  some  extent. 

"I  think,"  he  said,  "I  may  tell  you  about  this.  I 
found  this  out  myself." 

He  took  a  letter-case  from  his  pocket  and  pro- 
duced from  it  a  corner  torn  off  an  envelope. 

"Look  at  that,"  he  said.    "Look  at  it  carefully." 

Gorman  stared  at  the  scrap  of  paper. 

"Bit  of  an  envelope,"  he  said.  "Penny  stamp, 
London  postmark." 

"Now  look  at  this,"  said  Phillips. 

He  handed  Gorman  part  of  another  envelope, 
torn  in  exactly  the  same  way.  Gorman  looked 
at  it. 

"Same  sort  of  envelope,"  he  said.  "Same  post- 
mark, different  dates." 

"That  last  one,"  said  Phillips,  "is  a  corner  of  an 
envelope  which  I  got  through  the  post  ten  days  ago. 
It  came  from  the  office,  Mr.  Steinwitz'  office.  The 
first  one  I  found  in  the  hall  of  the  Queen's  palace 
the  day  we  landed  on  Salissa." 

"Well,"  said  Gorman,  "that's  not  much  to  go  on. 
Lots  of  firms  use  envelopes  like  that,  and  I  suppose 


166  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

there  are  thousands  of  letters  every  day  with  that 
postmark.  Still  it's  possible  that  Steinwitz  wrote 
a  letter  to  some  one  who  was  on  the  island  last 
September.  Were  there  any  other  bits  of  paper  on 
that  floor?" 

"There  were/'  said  Phillips,  "but  I  didn't  pick 
them  up.  I  intended  to  next  day.  But  they  were 
gone.  The  floor  had  been  swept." 

"Oh!    Who  swept  the  floor?" 

"Smith.     I  saw  him  doing  it." 

"Now  who,"  said  Gorman,  "is  Smith?" 

"Smith!  He  was  steward  on  the  Ida.  Mr. 
Steinwitz  sent  him  on  board  just  before  we  sailed. 
He  stayed  on  the  island  as  servant  to  the  Donovans. 
Oh,  by  the  way,  talking  of  Smith,  perhaps  I  ought 
to  tell  you " 

He  told  Gorman  the  story  of  Smith's  early  morn- 
ing visit  to  the  cave  in  company  with  Stephanos  the 
Elder. 

"Does  Smith  ever  write  letters?"  asked  Gorman. 

"I  don't  know.  Oh,  yes.  I  remember.  The 
day  we  docked  at  Tilbury,  after  our  return  voyage, 
Captain  Wilson  sent  me  up  to  the  office  with  some 
letters  of  Mr.  Donovan's.  Just  as  I  was  starting 
he  called  me  back  and  said  I  might  as  well  take 
Smith's  letters  too.  There  were  three  of  them,  all 
addressed  to  Mr.  Steinwitz." 

"I  think,"  said  Gorman,  "that  when  I  get  to  the 
island  I'll  have  a  look  at  those  cisterns  of  yours." 

"I'll  ask  the  Queen  if  I  may  take  you,"  said 
Phillips. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  167 

"You  and  the  Queen,"  said  Gorman,  "seem  to 
have  formed  yourselves  into  a  kind  of  detective 
brotherhood  for  the  discovery  of  the  mystery  of  the 
island." 

"We  thought  it  would  be  rather  fun." 

"You  don't  appear  to  have  found  out  very  much. 
Suppose  you  take  me  into  partnership.  We  could 
all  three  work  together,  except  when  it  is  necessary 
to  climb  cisterns.  Then  I'd  stay  round  the  nearest 
corner.  What  do  you  think?" 

"I'd  like  to;  but  I  must  ask  the  Queen  first." 

"I  might  be  some  help." 

"You  would,"  said  Phillips.  "I'm  not  clever, 
you  know.  I  wish  I  was.  And,  of  course,  the 
Queen  is  very  young." 

"I'm  quite  old,"  said  Gorman,  "and  amazingly 
clever." 

"I  can  see  that.    I  saw  it  directly  I  met  you." 

"Then  you'd  better  let  me  help.  We'll  see  if  we 
can't  catch  Smith  at  some  little  game." 


CHAPTER    XV 

'TVHERE  is  no  doubt  that  the  Donovans  owed 
A  their  comfort  on  Salissa  very  largely  to 
Smith,  the  ship's  steward,  who  had  entered  their 
service  at  the  last  moment,  and,  as  it  seemed,  acci- 
dentally. 

Donovan  would  never  have  achieved  the  rest  and 
quiet  he  desired  without  Smith.  Advocates  of  the 
simple  life  may  say  what  they  like ;  but  a  man  like 
Donovan  would  have  lived  in  a  condition  of  per- 
petual worry  and  annoyance  if  he  had  been  obliged 
to  go  foraging  for  such  things  as  milk  and  eggs;  if 
it  had  been  his  business  to  chop  up  wood  and  light 
the  kitchen  fire.  He  would  not  have  liked  cleaning 
his  own  boots  or  sweeping  up  the  cigar  ends  and 
tobacco  ash  with  which  he  strewed  the  floors  of  the 
palace.  He  would  not  have  slept  well  at  night  in  a 
bed  that  he  made  himself.  He  would  have  gone 
without  shaving  most  days — thereby  becoming  un- 
comfortable and  most  unsightly — if  he  had  been 
dependent  on  his  own  exertions  for  a  supply  of  hot 
water  and  a  properly  stropped  razor. 

His  daughter  would  have  made  a  poor  queen  if  it 
had  fallen  to  her  lot  to  cook  meals  for  herself  and 
her  father,  if  she  had  spent  a  morning  every  week 
168 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  169 

at  a  wash-tub  and  another  morning  with  an  iron  in 
her  hand.  There  were  no  labour-saving  devices  in 
the  palace.  King  Otto  had  a  remarkable  taste  for 
fantastic  architecture;  but  it  had  not  occurred  to 
him  to  run  hot  and  cold  water  through  his  house 
or  to  have  a  lift  between  the  kitchen  and  the  upper 
storeys.  There  was  not  even  in  the  whole  palace  a 
single  sink  in  which  a  plate  could  conveniently  be 
washed.  It  is  impossible  to  be  a  queen  in  any  real 
and  proper  sense  if  you  have  to  spend  hours  every 
day  doing  the  work  of  a  kitchen-maid.  Queens, 
and  indeed  all  members  of  aristocracies,  ought  to 
be  occupied  with  thoughts  of  great  and  splendid 
things,  wide  schemes  of  philanthropy,  sage  counsels 
for  the  elevating  of  the  masses.  But  the  human 
mind  will  not  work  at  social  and  political  philos- 
ophy if  it  is  continually  worried  with  problems  of 
scouring  pans  and  emptying  slops.  That  is  why 
there  must  be  a  class  of  menials,  perhaps  slaves,  in 
society,  if  any  advance  is  to  be  made  towards  the 
finer  civilization. 

It  was  Smith  who  saved  the  Queen  from  becom- 
ing a  drudge  and  Donovan  from  unfamiliar  kinds 
of  toil  which  would  probably  have  still  further  in- 
jured his  heart,  would  certainly  have  broken  his 
temper. 

Salissa  was  not  by  any  means  a  desert  island. 
It  was  inhabited  by  intelligent,  kindly  people,  who 
kept  milk-giving  cows  and  hens  which  laid  eggs. 
It  was  well  cultivated.  Grapes  and  wheat  grew 
there.  There  were  fish  in  the  surrounding  sea,  a«d 


170  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

the  islanders  possessed  boats  and  nets.  Nor  were 
the  Donovans  castaways  of  the  ordinary  kind.  They 
had  a  large  house,  luxuriously  furnished.  They  had 
ample  stores  of  every  kind.  Nevertheless  they  could 
scarcely  have  lived  on  Salissa — they  would  certainly 
not  have  tried  to  Hve  there  long — if  they  had  not 
had  Smith  with  them.  Picnicking  is  delightful  for 
a  short  time.  A  picnic  unduly  prolonged  degener- 
ates rapidly  through  all  the  stages  of  discomfort, 
and  ends  in  actual  hardship. 

'  Smith  organized  the  life  of  the  palace.  Every 
morning  an  island  boat  crossed  the  harbour  bring- 
ing eggs,  milk  and  fish.  Every  evening  just  at  sunset 
it  came  again  with  more  milk  and  if  necessary  more 
eggs.  Four  island  girls  were  brought  from  the  vil- 
lage by  Stephanos  the  Elder,  and — this  was  the  im- 
pression left  on  the  Queen's  mind — solemnly  dedi- 
cated to  domestic  service.  Smith  taught  them  the 
elements  of  housework.  Two  boys  were  taken  from 
the  fields  and  handed  over  to  Smith.  He  taught 
them  to  polish  boots,  clean  knives,  and  make  all 
kinds  of  metal — silver,  brass  and  copper — shine 
splendidly.  Smith's  work  was  made  easier  for  him 
by  Stephanos  the  Elder.  That  old  man  spent  two 
hours  every  day  in  the  palace.  He  did  not  bring 
osier  rods  with  him,  but  the  girls  knew,  and  the  boys 
knew  still  better,  that  his  arm  was  strong  and  that 
pliant  rods  hurt  horribly.  There  were  no  corners 
left  unswept  in  the  rooms  of  the  palace,  no  plates 
unwashed,  no  failure  in  the  supply  of  cans  of  hot 
water  for  Donovan's  bedroom  or  the  Queen's.  At 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  171 

first  Smith  did  all  the  cooking  himself.  Later,  when 
one  of  the  girls  showed  some  intelligence,  he  at- 
tended only  to  the  more  difficult  and  complex  dishes. 
He  never  allowed  any  one  else  to  wait  on  Donovan. 
The  organization  was  not  accomplished  at  once.  For 
a  few  days  life  in  the  palace  was  exciting,  full  of 
surprises  and  occasions  for  laughter.  For  a  few 
days  more  it  was  a  very  well-arranged  picnic,  rather 
less  exciting  than  it  had  been,  with  meals  which 
could  be  confidently  reckoned  on  and  many  minor 
comforts.  At  the  end  of  a  fortnight  it  had  settled 
down  into  something  like  the  smooth  routine  of  a 
well-managed  English  country  house. 

But  the  Queen,  even  when  things  in  the  palace 
were  well  ordered,  did  not  find  the  island  dull.  She 
explored  it  all.  With  Kalliope  as  guide  she  climbed 
rocks,  descended  into  lonely  coves,  walked  through 
fields  and  vineyards,  wandered  over  the  pasture  land 
of  the  upper  plateau.  She  rowed,  taking  turns  at 
the  oars  with  Kalliope,  into  many  caves  and  found 
fascinating  landing-places  among  the  rocks.  One 
fine  day  she  sailed  all  round  her  kingdom  in  the 
largest  of  the  island  boats,  manned  and  steered  by 
Kalliope's  lover. 

She  did  not  forget  that  she  was  a  queen.  She 
learnt  the  names  of  all  her  subjects.  She  made  plans 
for  many  improvements.  Roads  should  be  built, 
houses  rebuilt,  water  should  run  about  in  pipes  and 
women  turn  taps  instead  of  carrying  great  pitchers 
on  their  heads.  Motor  tractors,  instead  of  small 
bullocks,  should  drag  the  island  ploughs.  Motor 


ff72  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

engines  should  drive  the  fishing  boats.  Every  eve- 
ning, Kalliope  sitting  by  her,  the  Queen  drew  maps, 
designed  cottages,  and  made  long  lists  of  things 
which  the  Ida  should,  in  due  time,  fetch  from  Eng- 
land. 

She  started  a  school  in  the  great  hall  of  the  palace. 
Smith  explained  to  Stephanos  the  Elder  what  was 
wanted  and  he  undertook  the  duties  of  attendance 
officer.  The  Queen's  idea  was  to  encourage  the  chil- 
dren with  gifts  of  chocolates.  Stephanos,  who  must 
have  had  the  mind  of  a  Progressive,  established  a 
system  of  compulsory  education.  The  Queen  spoke 
very  few  words  of  the  children's  language,  and 
Kalliope,  who  acted  as  assistant  mistress,  did  not 
know  much  English.  But  the  laws  of  arithmetic, 
so  the  Queen  felt,  must  be  of  universal  application, 
two  and  two  making  four,  by  whatever  names  you 
called  them.  And  the  Alphabet  must  be  a  useful 
thing  to  learn  whatever  words  you  spell  with  it  af- 
terwards. So  the  Queen  drew  Arabic  numerals  on 
large  sheets  of  paper  and  tried  to  impress  on  a 
giggling  group  of  children  that  the  figures  corre- 
sponded in  some  way  to  little  piles  of  pebbles  which 
she  arranged  on  the  floor.  She  succeeded  in  teach- 
ing them  that  K,  written  very  large,  and  held  up 
for  inspection,  was  in  some  way  connected  with 
Kalliope.  She  failed  to  persuade  them  that  S  could 
have  anything  to  do  with  Stephanos  the  Elder.  S, 
perhaps  because  it  is  so  curly,  always  made  the  chil- 
dren laugh  uproariously.  The  mention  of  the  name 
of  Stephanos  made  them  suddenly  grave  again.  He 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  173 

was  no  subject  for  merriment,  and  it  seemed  impos- 
sible that  a  sign  so  plainly  comic  as  S  could  possibly 
be  associated  with  him. 

The  mystery  of  the  island  was  the  Queen's  only 
disappointment.  It  remained  obstinately  undevel- 
oped. No  more  suspicious  scraps  of  paper  were  to 
be  found  anywhere.  Smith  hardly  ever  stirred  out- 
side the  palace.  The  cisterns  were,  indeed,  still  in 
the  cavern,  but  no  change  took  place  in  them.  They 
stood  there,  great,  foolish,  empty  tanks  of  galvan- 
ized iron,  entirely  meaningless  things.  The  Queen 
came  to  regard  them  without  wonder.  They  were 
just  there,  that  was  all.  Little  by  little  the  mystery 
ceased  to  interest  her,  ceased  even  to  be  a  disap- 
pointment. 

Then  one  day,  just  as  she  was  beginning  to  forget 
it,  the  mystery  suddenly  became  exciting  again. 

It  was  still  Kalliope's  habit  to  sleep,  wrapped  in 
a  rug,  on  the  floor  at  the  foot  of  the  Queen's  bed. 
Smith  commanded  and  the  Queen  entreated,  but  the 
girl  refused  to  occupy  a  room  of  her  own  or  to  sleep 
on  a  bed.  Every  morning  about  seven  she  woke, 
unrolled  herself  from  her  rug,  tiptoed  across  the 
room  and  pulled  back  the  curtains.  The  flood  of 
sunlight  wakened  the  Queen  and  the  two  girls  went 
together  to  bathe  from  the  steps  below  the  Queen's 
balcony. 

One  morning  Kalliope  gave  a  sudden  shout  of 
excitement  when  she  pulled  back  the  curtains. 

"Mucky  ship !"  she  cried. 

She  ran  from  the  window.    The  Queen,  blinking 


174  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

and  no  more  than  half  awake,  was  seized  by  the 
arms  and  pulled  out  of  bed.  Kalliope  was  the  least 
conyentional  of  lady's-maids.  She  loved,  even  wor- 
shipped and  adored,  her  mistress,  but  she  had  no 
idea  "whatever  of  propriety  of  behaviour.  Bed- 
clothes were  scattered  on  the  floor.  The  Queen, 
staggering  to  her  feet,  was  dragged  across  the  room 
to  the  \rindow.  Kalliope  pointed  to  the  harbour 
with  a  finger  which  trembled  with  excitement. 

"Mucky  ship,"  she  said. 

Kalliope's  English  was  improving  in  quality.  The 
Queen  had  forbidden  her  to  say  "damn"  or 
"bloody"  but  about  "mucky"  she  had  received  no 
instructions.  It  still  seemed  to  her  a  proper  epithet 
for  any  ship.  In  this  case  it  was  unsuitable.  The 
ship,  a  small  steamer,  which  lay  at  anchor  in  the 
harbour,  looked  more  like  a  yacht  than  a  cargo  boat. 
Her  paint  was  fresh.  Her  hull  had  fine  lines.  Her 
two  masts  and  high  yellow  funnel  raked  sharply  aft. 
The  brass  work  on  her  bridge  glittered  in  the  sun- 
light. But  Kalliope  stuck  to  her  epithet. 

"Mucky  ship,"  she  said,  "once  more." 

"Once  more"  was  a  recent  addition  to  her  Eng- 
lish. She  had  picked  the  phrase  up  in  the  Queen's 
school,  where  indeed  it  was  in  constant  use.  She 
knew  what  it  meant;  but  it  was  not  clear  why  she 
used  it  about  the  steamer. 

The  Queen  was  excited,  almost  as  much  excited 
as  Kalliope.  Even  to  dwellers  in  seaport  towns  there 
must,  I  think,  always  come  a  certain  thrill  when  a 
ship  arrives  from  the  sea.  In  Salissa,  where  ships 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  175 

rarely  come,  where  no  steamer  had  been  seen  since 
the  Ida  sailed,  the  sudden  coming  of  a  strange  craft 
was  a  moving  event.  And  the  manner  of  her  com- 
ing stirred  the  imagination.  A  ship  which  sails  in 
by  day  is  sighted  far  off.  Her  shape  is  seen,  her 
flag  is  read,  perhaps,  long  before  she  reaches  the 
harbour.  Half  the  interest  of  her  coming  disap- 
pears as  she  slips  slowly  in,  gazed  at  by  all  eyes, 
speculated  on,  discussed  by  every  tongue.  But  a 
ship  which  arrives  by  night  is  full  of  wonder.  At 
sunset  she  is  not  there.  In  the  darkness  she  steals 
in.  No  one  sees  her  approach.  She  is  there,  rich  in 
possibilities  of  romance,  to  greet  eyes  opening  on  a 
new  day. 

The  Queen  and  Kalliope  had  no  morning  swim 
that  day.  They  were  eager  to  dress,  to  go  out,  to 
row  across  to  the  strange  ship.  They  had  no  time 
to  waste  in  bathing.  As  they  dressed  they  ran  to 
and  fro  about  the  room,  never  willing  to  take  their 
eyes  off  the  steamer  for  very  long.  It  was  interest- 
ing to  watch  her.  Men  were  busy  about  her  decks 
and  a  tall  officer  could  be  seen  on  her  bridge.  A 
boat  was  swung  out  and  lowered  from  the  davits. 
She  was  manned  by  four  rowers.  The  anchor  cable 
of  the  steamer  was  hove  short.  A  warp  was  passed 
down  to  the  boat  and  made  fast  in  her  stern.  Then 
the  anchor  was  weighed  and  hung  dripping  just  clear 
of  the  water.  The  rowers  pulled  at  their  oars.  The 
boat  shot  ahead  of  the  steamer.  The  warp  was  paid 
out  for  awhile  and  then  made  fast  on  board  the 
steamer.  The  work  of  towing  began.  The  boat. 


176  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

moving  slowly  in  short  jerks,  headed  for  the  shore. 
The  officer  on  the  steamer's  bridge  directed  the 
rowers,  shouting.  They  made  for  the  entrance  of 
the  great  cave.  Close  under  the  cliffs  the  steamer's 
anchor  was  dropped  again.  Another  anchor  was 
run  out  by  the  attendant  boat,  then  another,  and  a 
fourth.  At  last  the  steamer  lay,  moored  bow  and 
stern,  broadside  on  to  the  cliff,  a  few  yards  from 
the  mouth  of  the  cave. 

The  Queen,  fully  dressed  at  last,  ran  to  her  fath- 
er's room.  Kalliope  was  at  her  heels.  Donovan 
was  in  bed  and  still  asleep.  At  that  hour  Smith  had 
not  even  brought  him  his  cup  of  coffee  or  his  shav- 
ing water.  The  Queen  was  less  ruthless  than  Kalli- 
ope had  been.  She  did  not  pull  her  father  out  of 
bed ;  but  she  wakened  him  without  pity. 

"Father,"  she  said,  "a  steamer  has  arrived.  She 
came  during  the  night.  She  looks  like  a  yacht.  Do 
you  think  she  can  be  a  yacht?  I  wonder  who's  on 
board  of  her." 

Donovan  sat  up  and  yawned. 

"Is  she  going  off  again  right  now  ?"  he  asked. 

"Oh  no,"  said  the  Queen,  "she  has  gone  in  quite 
close  to  the  shore.  She  has  put  out  four  anchors. 
She  looks  as  if  she  meant  to  stay  for  weeks." 

"Then  there's  no  darned  hurry,"  said  Donovan, 
"and  no  need  for  me  to  strain  my  heart  by  getting 
out  of  bed  at  this  hour.  Just  you  run  away,  Daisy, 
and  take  that  girl  of  yours  with  you." 

"But,  father,  don't  you  want  to  see  the  yacht? 
J?cn'*  you  want  to  know  who's  in  her?" 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  177 

"We'll  send  Smith  after  breakfast,"  said  Dono- 
van, "and  ask  the  proprietor  to  dine." 

Mr.  Donovan  lay  down  again  and  put  his  head 
on  the  pillow. 

"But  I  can't  possibly  wait  till  dinner-time,"  said 
the  Queen. 

"Well,  luncheon,"  said  Donovan. 

His  voice  was  a  little  muffled.  After  lying  down 
he  had  taken  a  pull  at  the  bedclothes  and  had 
arranged  the  corner  of  the  sheet  over  his  mouth 
and  ear. 

The  Queen  gave  him  up ;  but  she  was  not  willing 
to  wait  even  till  luncheon-time  or  to  trust  Smith 
to  deliver  the  invitation.  Kalliope  shared  her 
impatience. 

"Go  row,"  she  said,  "quick — quick — slick." 

"Slick"  was  a  word  which  she  fhad  recently 
learned  from  Smith.  He  often  used  it  in  urging 
on  his  staff  of  housemaids.  He  was  forced  to  use 
an  English  word  now  and  then  when  he  could  not 
express  his  meaning  in  the  Megalian  language. 
There  is  no  equivalent  to  "slick"  in  Megalian. 

What  the  Queen  wanted  most  at  the  moment  was 
to  be  quick  and  slick  in  getting  off.  She  and 
Kalliope  ran  down  to  the  steps  where  their  boat 
lay  moored.  Smith  was  there,  looking  at  the 
strange  steamer. 

"Oh,  Smith,"  said  the  Queen,  "is  it  a  yacht?" 

"Don't  know,  your  Majesty,"  said  Smith. 
"Never  saw  her  before.  She  looks  to  me  like  a 
foreigner,  your  Majesty,  not  an  English  boat." 


178  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"Well,  I'll  soon  find  out,"  said  the  Queen. 
"We're  going  off  to  her." 

Kalliope  had  already  cast  off  the  boat's  mooring 
rope  and  sat  ready  at  the  oars. 

"Beg  pardon,  your  Majesty,"  said  Smith,  "but 
it  might  be  as  well  for  me  to  go  off  first.  Foreign 
sailors  are  not  always  as  polite  as  they  might  be. 
Not  knowing  that  your  Majesty  is  Queen  of  the 
island  they  might  say  things  which  were  disrespect- 
ful." 

The  Queen  would  not  listen  to  this  suggestion. 

"Come  along  with  us  if  you  like,"  she  said,  "but 
I'm  not  going  to  wait  till  you  come  back." 

Smith  stepped  into  the  boat  and  took  his  seat 
in  the  bow.  Kalliope  had  the  oars.  The  Queen 
sat  in  the  stern. 

The  men  on  the  deck  of  the  steamer  were  very 
busy.  They  were  overhauling  and  coiling  down 
what  looked  like  a  long  rubber  hose.  An  officer,  a 
young  man  in  a  smart  uniform,  was  directing  the 
work.  When  the  boat  was  near  the  steamer,  the 
oificer  hailed  and  asked  in  German  what  boat  it 
was.  Kalliope  was  rowing  vigorously.  Before 
any  answer  could  be  made  to  the  hail  the  boat  ran 
alongside  the  steamer. 

The  Queen  had  learned  German  at  school,  care- 
fully and  laboriously,  paying  much  attention  to  the 
vagaries  of  irregular  verbs.  She  began  to  think 
out  a  sentence  in  which  to  describe  her  boat,  herself 
and  her  servants.  But  Smith  took  it  for  granted 
that  she  knew  no  German.  Before  her  sentence 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  179 

had  taken  shape  he  answered  the  officer.  The  young 
man  leaned  over  the  bulwark  of  the  steamer  and 
stared  at  the  Queen  while  Smith  spoke.  Then  he 
went  awaj.  Smith  explained  to  the  Queen  what 
had  happened. 

"I  asked  him  to  call  the  captain,  your  Majesty. 
I  told  him  that  you  are  the  Queen  of  the  island.  I 
was  speaking  to  him  in  German,  your  Majesty." 

The  Queen  knew  that.  She  might  be  slow  in 
framing  a  German  sentence  when  an  unexpected 
demand  for  such  a  thing  was  made  on  her,  but 
thanks  to  the  patience  and  diligence  of  a  certain 
fat  German  governess,  she  could  understand  the 
language  fairly  well.  She  had  understood  every 
word  that  Smith  said.  He  had  not  told  the  young 
officer  that  she  was  Queen  of  the  island.  He  had 
described  her  as  the  daughter  of  the  rich  American 
who  had  bought  Salissa  from  King  Konrad  Karl. 
She  made  no  attempt  at  the  moment  to  understand 
why  Smith  said  one  thing  in  German  and  offered 
her  something  slightly  different  as  a  translation ;  and 
she  did  not  question  him  on  the  point.  She  was 
content  to  leave  him  to  suppose  that  she  knew  no 
German  at  all. 

The  boat,  which  had  run  quickly  alongside  of  the 
steamer  near  her  bow,  now  lay  beside  the  accommo- 
dation ladder  which  hung  amidships.  A  tall  officer 
stood  on  the  platform  outside  the  bulwarks  and 
looked  down  at  the  Queen.  He  was  a  heavily  built 
blonde  man  with  neatly  trimmed  beard  and  mous- 
tache. He  wore  a  naval  uniform  and  stood  stiffly 


180  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

erect,  his  heels  together,  while  he  raised  his  hand 
to  the  formal  salute.  The  Queen  spoke  to  Smith. 

"Ask  him,"  she  said,  "if  he  will  come  ashore 
and  breakfast  with  us." 

Before  Smith  could  translate,  the  officer  replied 
to  her. 

"I  speak  English,"  he  said,  "it  is  not  necessary 
that  he  translate.  I  have  the  honour  to  present 
myself — Captain  von  Moll." 

"Very  pleased  to  meet  you,  Captain  von  Moll. 
Won't  you  come  ashore  and  breakfast  with  us?" 

"I  regret  that  is  impossible,"  said  von  Moll.  "I 
am  much  occupied." 

He  spoke  slowly,  pronouncing  each  word  care- 
fully. He  looked  steadily  at  the  Queen,  not  taking 
his  eyes  from  her  face  for  a  moment.  His  words 
were  civil.  His  attitude  was  strictly  correct.  But 
there  was  something  in  his  stare  which  the  Queen 
did  not  like,  a  suggestion  of  insolence.  She  felt 
that  this  man  regarded  her  as  an  inferior,  a  member 
of  an  inferior  sex  perhaps,  or  one  of  an  inferior 
race.  American  women,  especially  American  girls, 
are  not  accustomed  to  think  of  themselves  as  men's 
inferiors.  American  citizens  find  it  impossible  to 
believe  that  any  one  in  the  world  can  look  down  on 
them.  The  Queen  was  not  annoyed.  She  was 
piqued  and  interested. 

"Perhaps,"  she  said,  "you  will  come  for 
luncheon  or  dinner.  We  dine  at  half -past  seven." 

Von  Moll  saluted  again  with  formal  politeness. 

"I  will  dine  with  you,"  he  said,  "at  half-past 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  181 

seven.  Meanwhile  I  am  sorry  that  I  cannot  ask 
you  to  come  on  board  and  see  my  ship.  My  men 
are  much  occupied." 

The  Queen  signed  to  Kalliope  and  the  boat  left 
the  steamer's  side. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

DONOVAN  was  no  more  than  moderately  in- 
terested in  what  his  daughter  told  him  about 
the  strange  steamer.  She  mentioned  the  fact  that 
the  Captain  spoke  English  with  precise  correctness. 

"They're  an  educated  people,  the  Germans," 
said  Donovan.  "I  reckon  there's  ten  of  them  know 
English  for  one  American  knows  German.  Couldn't 
do  business  with  us  if  they  didn't  learn  to  talk  so 
as  we  can  understand  them.  That's  the  reason.  It 
isn't  fancy  trimmings  they're  out  for,  but  business ; 
and  they're  getting  it.  I  wouldn't  call  them  a  smart 
people.  They  haven't  got  the  punch  of  our  business 
men;  but  they're  darned  persevering." 

"It  can't  be  business  that  brings  him  here,"  said 
the  Queen. 

"No,"  said  Donovan.  "Salissa  is  not  a  business 
centre.  It's  my  opinion  that  steamer  is  having 
trouble  with  her  engines  and  has  come  in  here  to 
tinker  a  bit;  or  maybe  she's  short  of  water;  or 
the  captain's  taken  a  notion  that  he'd  like  some 
fresh  fish  and  a  few  dozen  eggs.  It  doesn't  seem 
to  me  that  we  need  fret  any  about  what  brings  him 
here." 

The  Queen  was  not  satisfied.  She  sat  for  some 
182 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  183 

time  on  her  balcony  looking  at  the  steamer.  With 
the  help  of  a  pair  of  glasses  she  could  watch  what 
was  going  on.  The  long  hose  which  she  had  seen 
in  the  morning  was  got  on  deck  and  coiled  in  three 
great  heaps.  Then  the  men  knocked  off  work  for 
breakfast.  After  that  they  became  active  again. 
One  end  of  the  hose  was  lowered  into  a  boat.  It 
seemed  to  the  Queen  to  be  a  rubber  hose  like  those 
used  by  firemen.  The  boat  rowed  towards  the  cave. 
Another  boat  lay  close  to  the  steamer's  bow  and 
received  a  loop  of  the  hose,  taking  some  of  the 
strain  and  drag  off  the  first  boat.  She  too  rowed 
towards  the  cave.  A  third  boat  followed  in  the 
same  way.  The  Queen  saw  that  the  hose  was  being 
carried  into  the  depths  of  the  cave,  drooping  into 
the  water  between  the  boats,  but  sufficiently  sup- 
ported to  be  dragged  on.  The  work  was  very  slow, 
but  it  was  carried  on  steadily,  methodically. 

The  Queen  was  much  interested  in  what  she  saw. 
After  awhile  she  became  very  curious.  The  pro- 
ceedings of  the  men  on  the  steamer  were  difficult 
to  understand.  There  seemed  no  reason  why  they 
should  tug  a  large  quantity  of  rubber  hose  into  the 
cave.  It  was  a  senseless  thing  to  do.  Then  it 
occurred  to  her  that  the  cave  was  hers,  part  of  an 
island  of  which  she  was  Queen,  which  her  father 
had  bought  for  her  from  its  legal  owner.  Any 
householder  would  feel  himself  entitled  to  investi- 
gate the  doings  of  a  party  of  strangers  who  appeared 
suddenly  and  pushed  a  rubber  hose  through  his 
drawing-room  window.  They  might  be  the  ser- 


184  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

vants  of  the  gas  company  or  officials  sent  by  the 
water  board,  or  sanitary  inspectors,  but  the  owner 
of  the  house  would  want  to  satisfy  himself  about 
them.  The  Queen  felt  that  she  had  every  right 
to  find  out  what  von  Moll's  men  were  doing. 

She  called  Kalliope  and  they  went  off  together 
in  their  boat,  rowing  across  the  bay  towards  the 
steamer. 

Kalliope  was  excited.  She  talked  rapidly  in  her 
own  language,  turning  round  now  and  then  and 
pointing  towards  the  steamer.  It  was  plain  that 
she  had  something  which  she  very  much  wanted  to 
say,  something  about  the  strange  steamer.  The 
Queen's  curiosity  increased.  She  thought  for  a 
moment  of  turning  back  to  the  palace.  There  she 
would  find  Smith  and  he  would  interpret  for  her. 
Then  she  remembered  Smith's  odd  mistake  in 
translating  his  own  German  in  the  morning.  She 
determined  not  to  ask  his  help.  Kalliope,  hopeless 
of  explaining  herself  in  Megalian,  fell  back  on  her 
small  store  of  English  words.  She  kept  on  saying 
"Mucky  ship,"  which  conveyed  nothing  at  all  to 
the  Queen,  except  the  obvious  fact  that  the  steamer 
was  there.  She  also  repeated  the  words  "Once 
more." 

At  last,  when  the  boat  was  getting  near  the 
steamer,  Kalliope  made  a  great  effort. 

"It — is — once  more,"  she  said. 

The  Queen  jumped  to  a  possible  meaning  of  her 
words.  The  steamer,  that  steamer  had  been  in  the 
harbour  of  Salissa  before,  had  been  perhaps  about 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  185 

some  business  similar  to  that  which  occupied  her 
now.  Kalliope,  her  eyes  on  the  Queen's  face,  saw 
that  she  was  making  herself  understood.  She 
nodded  delightedly,  turned  round  on  her  seat  and 
pointed  to  the  steamer. 

"It — is — once  more." 

Then  she  began  to  sing,  softly  at  first,  louder  as 
she  became  sure  of  herself,  until  her  voice  rang  clear 
across  the  water.  Her  song  had  no  words,  but  the 
tune  was  that  which  she  had  sung  to  the  Queen  in 
the  cave  on  the  day  when  she  first  saw  the  cisterns. 
It  was  the  tune  of  the  hymn  "Glorious  things  of 
thee  are  spoken." 

Three  or  four  men  were  leaning  over  the  ship's 
bulwarks,  looking  at  the  Queen's  boat.  They  heard 
Kalliope's  voice,  and  they  joined  in  the  hymn.  A 
boat  lay  in  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  supporting  part 
of  the  long  hose.  There  were  four  men  in  her. 
They  also  joined  in  the  hymn.  They  sang  words, 
German  words.  The  Queen  listened  intently,  trying 
to  hear  what  the  words  were. 

Captain  von  Moll,  standing  on  the  bridge  of  the 
steamer,  shouted  an  order.  The  men  stopped 
singing  abruptly.  Kalliope  finished  the  tune  by 
herself  and  then  laughed. 

"It — is — once  more,"  she  said. 

The  Queen  understood.  The  ship  had  been  in 
the  harbour  before.  The  crew  had  gone  about 
some  work,  like  that  which  she  saw  them  doing. 
While  they  worked  they  had  sung  that  hymn  tune. 
The  Queen  frowned  with  perplexity.  Then  suddenly 


,i86  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

she  recollected.  She  had  been  in  the  choir  at 
school.  She  had  sung  hymns  every  morning  at 
prayers.  The  fat  German  governess,  an  exile  from 
the  Fatherland  and  deeply  sentimental,  used  to  play 
the  piano  and  teach  the  choir.  There  were  always 
tears  in  her  eyes  when  she  played  that  particular 
tune.  The  girls  understood  that  in  some  way  it 
meant  a  great  deal  to  her,  was  perhaps  the  tune  of 
some  national  song,  captured  by  an  English  musician 
and  set  to  the  words  of  a  popular  hymn.  The 
Queen  had  never  thought  much  about  the  matter. 
Now  it  occurred  to  her  that  the  sailors  were  singing 
the  song  which  the  German  governess  had  in  mind, 
a  song  so  popular  that  they  often  sang  it  at  their 
work.  Kalliope  had  learned  it  from  them  when 
they  first  visited  the  island.  They  recognized  it 
and  joined  in  it  when  they  heard  her  singing  it. 

Kalliope  rowed  slowly  round  the  steamer.  An 
engine  on  deck  began  to  work.  The  Queen  could 
hear  it  snorting  and  clanking.  The  boat  crossed 
the  ship's  bows,  passing  under  the  length  of  hose 
which  drooped  in  a  long  curve  into  the  water.  Sud- 
denly the  hose  swelled,  writhed,  twisted.  It  seemed 
to  be  alive.  It  looked  like  some  huge  sea  snake, 
wriggling  from  the  ship  into  the  water,  swimming 
through  the  water  towards  the  gloomy  mouth  of  the 
cave.  Kalliope  stopped  rowing  and  stared  open- 
mouthed.  The  Queen  realized  almost  at  once  what 
was  happening.  The  engine  on  the  steamer's  deck 
was  pumping  some  liquid  through  the  hose. 

Kalliope  held  her  dripping  oars  above  the  water 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  187 

and  stared  at  the  writhing  hose.  The  boat  lay  still. 
The  Queen  remembered  what  her  father  had  said 
at  breakfast.  The  steamer  might  have  come  to  the 
island  for  water.  It  was  possible  that  the  engine 
was  sucking  water  in  through  the  hose,  not  driving 
some  other  liquid  out  through  it.  But  the  Queen 
could  not  remember  any  spring  or  well  of  fresh 
water  in  the  cave.  She  signed  to  Kalliope.  The  girl 
dipped  her  oars  again.  The  boat  moved  towards 
the  entrance  of  the  cave. 

One  of  the  ship's  boats,  with  four  men  in  her,  lay 
right  under  the  high  archway  of  the  entrance.  A 
man  stood  up  and  signed  to  the  Queen,  shaking  his 
head. 

"Es  ist  verboten,"  he  said. 

Then,  with  gestures  which  could  not  be  mistaken 
he  repeated  gruffly,  "Verboten." 

To  the  Queen  it  seemed  absurd  that  a  strange 
sailor  should  try  to  prevent  her  from  rowing  into 
a  cave  in  her  own  island  whenever  she  chose.  She 
took  no  notice  of  the  man.  Kalliope  rowed  on. 
Two  of  the  men  in  the  ship's  boat  leaned  over  her 
side  and  caught  Kalliope's  oars. 

Kalliope  was  a  young  woman  of  imperturbably 
good  temper.  She  smiled  amiably  at  the  men  and 
then  turned  to  the  Queen. 

"Blighters,"  she  said.    "Bloody  blighters." 

She  was  also  a  young  woman  of  spirit  and  ready 
presence  of  mind.  With  a  swift  jerk  she  dragged 
the  slippery  blade  from  the  man's  hands.  She  pulled 
it  towards  her  beyond  the  man's  reach.  Then  with 


i88  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

a  sudden  vigorous  thrust  she  drove  the  blade  into 
the  face  of  the  nearest  sailor.  It  took  him  full  in 
the  mouth  and  knocked  him  backwards.  He  picked 
himself  up  and  spat  out  the  broken  fragments  of 
some  teeth.  Kalliope  laughed  joyously. 

"Bloody  blighters,"  she  said,  and  for  once  the 
epithet  was  appropriate  enough. 

The  Queen  felt  that  the  situation  was  neither 
agreeable  nor  dignified.  It  is  very  well,  no  doubt, 
for  wild,  half-barbarous  girls  like  Kalliope  to  en^ 
gage  in  fights  with  German  sailors;  but  for  a 
civilized  American,  a  graduate  of  a  university,  such 
things  are  impossible.  And  for  a  Queen!  Can  a 
queen  brawl  without  hopeless  loss  of  dignity?  Her 
immediate  impulse  was  to  appeal  to  the  captain  of 
the  steamer,  to  assert  her  right  to  enter  the  cave, 
to  demand  the  immediate  punishment  of  the  men 
who  had  stopped  her. 

She  looked  around.  The  captain  was  not  on  the 
bridge.  He  had  been  there  a  few  moments  before. 
He  had  been  there  when  the  engine  began  to  work. 
He  had  disappeared.  The  Queen  rowed  back  to 
the  steamer.  She  asked  for  the  captain.  The 
young  officer  whom  she  had  seen  in  the  morning 
came  to  the  side  of  the  ship  and  told  her  that  no  one 
was  allowed  to  enter  the  cave.  She  asked  to  see  the 
captain,  refusing  to  argue  about  her  rights  with  a 
subordinate  officer.  She  was  told  that  the  captain 
was  very  much  occupied  and  could  not  be  disturbed. 
The  Queen,  puzzled  and  angry,  rowed  back  to  the 
palace. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  189 

It  was  nearly  luncheon-time  when  she  landed. 
Smith  met  her  with  the  news  that  Mr.  Donovan  had 
been  suffering  severely  with  his  heart  all  the  morn- 
ing, that  he  would  not  join  the  Queen  at  luncheon, 
that,  further,  he  felt  the  need  of  absolute  quiet  and 
rest  during  the  afternoon,  but  hoped  to  be  able  tc 
meet  the  German  captain  at  dinner. 

Donovan's  balcony  commanded  a  full  view  of  the 
harbour.  He  had  seen  Kalliope's  struggle  with  the 
German  sailor.  He  felt  sure  that  his  daughter 
would  tell  him  the  whole  story.  He  feared  that 
she  would  want  him  to  take  some  vigorous  action. 
Donovan  made  a  point  of  encouraging  his  heart  in 
disordered  action  whenever  demands  of  that  kind 
were  likely  to  be  made  upon  him.  He  argued  that 
the  trouble  of  the  morning  would  in  all  probability 
have  died  away  before  dinner.  If  it  showed  signs 
of  reviving  or  increasing  in  intensity  he  intended  to 
dine  in  his  room  and  go  to  bed  early. 

The  Queen  felt  it  her  duty  to  lecture  Kalliope 
severely.  No  well-conducted  lady's-maid  ought  to 
attack  strange  sailors  with  oars  and  knock  out  their 
front  teeth.  Kalliope  must  be  made  to  understand 
that  such  conduct  was  not  only  undesirable  in  a 
maid  but  was  actually  unwomanly.  The  lecture 
was,  necessarily,  delivered  for  the  most  part  in 
pantomime,  by  means  of  frowns,  nods,  and  shakings 
of  the  head.  Up  to  a  certain  point  the  Queen 
succeeded  very  well.  Kalliope  easily  understood 
that  her  assault  on  the  sailor  was  the  subject  of 
discussion.  After  that  the  Queen's  sign  language 


190  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

began  to  fail  her.  Kalliope  continued  to  be  greatly 
pleased  with  herself  and  proud  of  her  performance. 
After  a  long  struggle  the  Queen  made  her  under- 
stand that  she  had  behaved  not  well,  but  very  badly. 
Kalliope  grovelled  in  abject  apology.  The  impres- 
sion finally  left  on  her  mind  was  that  she  was  to 
blame  for  anticipating  her  mistress'  action.  The 
Queen,  so  she  thought,  would  have  liked  to  fell  the 
German  sailor  herself,  would  indeed  have  brained 
the  man  instead  of  merely  breaking  his  front  teeth. 

The  Queen,  aware  that  she  was  failing  badly, 
gave  the  business  up  and  sent  Kalliope  away  to 
make  tea.  It  was  easy  enough  to  communicate 
with  Kalliope  about  tea,  clothes,  and  such  ordinary 
subjects.  The  girl  had  picked  up  the  English  names 
for  most  things  which  her  mistress  commonly  used. 

The  Queen  took  advantage  of  this.  After  tea 
she  made  an  inspection  of  her  evening  frocks.  She 
wished  to  appear  to  the  very  best  advantage  before 
Captain  von  Moll  when  he  came  to  dinner.  The 
man  had  stared  insolently  at  her  in  the  morning; 
but  then  she  had  been  wearing  a  simple  cotton 
frock  and  a  boating  hat  crammed  hastily  on  the 
back  of  her  head.  In  the  evening  she  meant  to 
be  splendid,  regal.  Captain  von  Moll  should  look 
at  her  with  respect.  She  determined  that  her 
manner  should  correspond  with  her  attire.  She 
would  be  gracious  indeed,  as  a  good  hostess  should 
be,  but  very  dignified,  a  little  remote,  with  more 
than  a  hint  of  condescending  patronage  in  her  tone 
when  she  spoke. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  191 

Kalliope,  greatly  delighted,  brought  out  frock 
after  frock.  She  spread  the  garments  on  the  backs 
of  sofas  and  chairs,  handling  delicate  lace  and  fine 
fabrics  with  tender  affection.  Sometimes,  at  the 
bidding  of  the  Queen,  she  put  on  one  of  the  frocks 
and  paraded  up  and  down  the  room  in  it,  her  brown 
face  and  strong,  sunburnt  arms  making  an  odd  con- 
trast with  pale-blue  silk  and  fluffy  chiffon.  The 
occupation  was  fascinating.  There  were  some  frocks 
which  the  Queen  had  scarcely  seen.  She  had,  she 
supposed,  chosen  the  material  and  the  shape,  had, 
it  was  likely,  tried  them  on  during  the  hurried 
days  before  sailing  for  Salissa.  But  she  had  for- 
gotten what  they  were  like,  forgotten  that  she 
possessed  them.  It  was  a  joy  to  see  them  spread  out 
before  her  eyes  or  actually  draped  on  Kalliope's 
slender  figure. 

Neither  girl  noticed  that  shortly  after  six  o'clock 
the  Ida  slipped  round  the  corner  of  the  reef  and 
dropped  anchor  in  the  harbour.  Phillips,  standing 
with  Captain  Wilson  and  Gorman  on  the  bridge, 
scanned  the  palace  steps,  the  balconies,  the  windows, 
and  then,  with  eager  eyes,  the  shores  of  the  bay,  for 
a  sight  of  the  Queen.  Captain  Wilson  and  Gorman 
stared  with  surprise  and  curiosity  at  the  German 
steamer.  Gorman  had  no  special  knowledge  of 
ships,  but  he  recognized  that  the  vessel  before  his 
eyes  was  not  an  ordinary  tramp.  He  was  startled 
and  interested  to  see  any  such  vessel  in  the  harbour 
of  Salissa.  Captain  Wilson,  a  puzzled  frown  on  his 
face,  wondered  at  the  odd  way  the  steamer  was 


192  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

moored  and  her  nearness  to  the  cliffs.  Phillips,  who 
had  no  eyes  at  all  for  the  strange  steamer,  seized 
the  line  attached  to  the  Ida's  whistle,  and  blew  three 
long  blasts.  He  hoped  to  announce  his  arrival 
to  the  Queen,  wherever  she  might  be. 

Captain  Wilson,  perplexed  by  the  look  and  posi- 
tion of  the  German  steamer,  was  irritable.  He 
ordered  Phillips  off  the  bridge.  But  the  whistle  had 
done  its  work.  The  Queen  and  Kalliope  ran  to  the 
balcony.  They  waved  joyful  greetings  to  the  Ida, 
Kalliope  an  odd  figure  in  a  pale-grey  evening  dress. 
Phillips,  standing  on  the  deck  below  the  bridge, 
waved  back.  It  was  a  joyful  moment.  A  few 
minutes  later  his  joy  was  turned  to  sorrow  of  an 
almost  unbearable  kind.  Captain  Wilson  for- 
bade him  to  go  ashore.  A  boat  was  lowered  and 
Gorman  was  rowed  off  to  the  palace — to  the 
gates  of  paradise.  Phillips  bitterly  regretted 
that  he  had  blown  his  blasts  of  greeting  on  the 
syren.  But,  in  fact,  it  was  not  for  that  he  was 
punished.  Captain  Wilson  was  simply  in  a  very  bad 
temper.  The  sight  of  Salissa  always  annoyed  him. 
The  position  of  the  German  steamer  irritated  him 
vehemently.  She  lay  dangerously  near  the  cliffs 
in  a  position  in  which  no  seaman  would  willingly 
put  his  ship.  She  was  absurdly  moored  with  four 
anchors.  She  was  occupied  in  a  perfectly  incom- 
prehensible manner.  No  man  likes  to  be  puzzled 
by  things  which  it  is  his  business  to  understand. 
Doctors  have  been  known  to  deny  the  existence  of 
symptoms  which  do  not  accord  with  those  proper 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  193 

to  the  patient's  taste.  Politicians  are  baffled  and  in- 
furiated by  men  who,  indifferent  to  the  sacred  eti- 
quette of  the  profession,  speak  the  truth  in  public. 
Engineers  are  angry  when  water  persists  in  oozing 
out  of  the  top  of  a  hill — as  it  sometimes  does  to 
the  confusion  of  all  known  laws — instead  of  trick- 
ling into  the  drains  dug  for  it  in  the  valley  under- 
neath. So  Captain  Wilson's  temper  gave  way 
because  the  German  steamer  lay  as  no  steamer  in 
the  charge  of  sane  men  ought  to  lie;  and  Phillips 
was  punished.  Kings  fly  into  a  rage,  said  an  ancient, 
poet,  and  the  common  people  suffer  for  it. 

Perhaps  Phillips  would  have  been  consoled,  he 
would  have  certainly  been  less  sulky  during  the 
evening,  if  he  had  seen  what  happened  in  the 
palace.  The  Queen  stood  on  the  balcony  all 
eagerness,  her  lips  parted,  her  eyes  sparkling,  a 
flush  coming  and  going  on  her  cheeks.  She  watched 
the  boat  lowered,  saw  the  men  take  their  places, 
saw  Gorman  climb  cautiously  down  and  seat  himself 
in  the  stern.  She  waited.  Phillips  was  on  deck. 
She  could  see  him.  The  boat  pushed  off.  Phillips 
was  not  in  her.  He  still  stood  on  the  steamer's 
lower  deck  leaning  over  the  bulwarks.  The  Queen 
turned  and  went  into  her  room.  She  flung  herself 
down  on  a  chair.  She  had  much  ado  to  hold  back 
most  unqueenly  tears  of  disappointment.  Kalliope 
slipped  off  the  grey  and  silver  dress  she  wore.  Very 
silently  she  folded  and  put  away  the  clothes  which 
lay  scattered  about  the  room.  Then  she  sat  down 
at  the  Queen's  feet  and  cried  softly.  She  had  a 


194  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

sympathetic  soul.  She  understood  the  Queen's 
feelings. 

Gorman  was  received  by  Smith.  After  a  few 
minutes  he  was  led  up  to  the  balcony  where  Donovan 
lay  stretched  on  a  deck  chair  with  a  box  of  cigars  at 
his  elbow. 

"I  am  very,  very  pleased  to  see  you,  Gorman,"  he 
said. 

"I'm  afraid,"  said  Gorman,  "that  I've  come  to 
bother  you.  There's  been  a  lot  of  fuss  in  London 
about  your  purchase  of  this  island.  The  Emperor 


Donovan  waved  his  hand  feebly  and  lay  back  in 
his  chair  with  every  appearance  of  extreme  ex- 
haustion. 

"111?"  said  Gorman. 

"Two  years  ago,"  said  Donovan,  "after  I  had 
realized  my  little  pile,  before  I  came  over  to  Europe 
I  sent  for  a  doctor — leading  man  in  his  own  line  in 
America — heart  specialist.  'Doc,'  I  said  to  him, 
'here's  200  dollars.  You  take  a  good  look  at 
my  heart.'  Well,  he  tapped  me  some  and  fooled 
around  in  the  usual  way.  'Sir,'  he  said,  'your 
heart  is  as  sound  as  a  bell.'  'Doc,'  I  said,  'you're 
mistaken,  and  the  fee  I  offered  was  unworthy  of 
your  acceptance.  I'll  write  out  a  cheque  for  500 
dollars,  and  you  take  another  look  at  my  heart. 
I've  a  feeling,'  I  said,  'that  what  I  want  is  rest  and 
quiet  now  that  my  pile's  made.'  Well,  he  tapped  me 
again  and  kind  of  listened  to  the  throbbing  of  the 
darned  machine.  'Sir,'  he  said,  'you're  suffering 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  195 

from  disordered  action  of  your  heart,  and  I  recom- 
mend rest  and  quiet.  No  excitement  and  no  worry.' 
'Doc/  I  said,  Tm  a  business  man — or  I  was  before 
you  passed  that  sentence  on  me.  I'd  be  obliged  if 
you'd  put  that  on  paper  with  your  signature  under- 
neath.' Well,  he  did  that,  and  I  paid  him  another 
200  dollars.  But  I  reckon  the  money  was  well 
spent.  That  paper  is  a  protection  to  me." 

"I  see,"  said  Gorman,  "I'll  let  the  Emperor 
know " 

"The  Emperor  be  damned,"  said  Donovan, 
"and,  say,  Gorman,  there's  a  kind  of  German  naval 
officer  wandering  around  this  island.  I  gather  that 
some  trouble  arose  this  morning  between  his  men 
and  my  daughter's  maid.  Seems  to  me  that  there 
may  be  explanations,  especially  as  that  German 
captain  is  to  dine  here  to-night.  Now  my  idea  is  to 
stay  where  I  am — on  account  of  the  condition  of  my 
heart.  Smith  will  bring  me  up  a  bit  of  chicken  and 
a  half-bottle  of  Heidsieck.  That's  all  I  feel  inclined 
for.  But  I  don't  care  to  leave  Daisy  alone  with 
that  man.  I'm  not  scared  of  anything  happening 
to  the  girl.  She's  pretty  well  able  to  look  after 
herself.  But  there  might  be  more  trouble  for  the 
officer." 

"There  will  be,"  said  Gorman,  "if  he's  come 
here  with  any  kind  of  message  from  the  Emperor." 

"Daisy,"  said  Donovan,  "is  liable  to  speak  out 
at  times.  And  that  girl  of  hers  is  handy  in  the  use 
of  weapons.  I  don't  want  to  have  to  officiate  at  the 
funeral  of  a  German  naval  officer." 


196  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"It  might  very  well  come  to  that,"  said  Gor- 
man. 

He  was  thinking  at  the  moment  of  the  Emperor's 
suggestion  that  Miss  Donovan  should  be  married 
out  of  hand  to  King  Konrad  Karl.  It  seemed  to 
him  likely  that  there  would  be  very  serious  trouble 
if  the  German  officer  made  that  proposal,  especially 
if  he  made  it  with  the  manner  of  a  man  who  is 
conferring  a  favour. 

"You  see,"  he  went  on,  "that  Emperor — silly 
old  fool  he  is — has  got  it  into  his  head " 

Donovan  lay  back  and  closed  his  eyes. 

"My  heart  isn't  up  to  the  strain,"  he  said.  "I'd 
rather  leave  the  affair  in  your  hands." 

"All  right,"  said  Gorman.     "I'll  see  it  through." 

"Thank  you.     It's  asking  a  good  deal,  I  know." 

"Not  at  all,"  said  Gorman  cheerfully.  "I  shall 
probably  enjoy  it." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

f^  APTAIN  VON  MOLL  thought  that  a  certain 
^->  assertion  of  dignity  was  due  to  his  position 
as  a  naval  officer.  He  was  to  dine  with  two  Ameri- 
cans, no  doubt  vulgar  representatives  of  a  nation 
which  did  not  understand  class  distinctions  and  the 
value  of  a  von  before  a  surname.  He  had  no  idea 
of  being  friendly.  The  dinner  was  an  official  affair. 
He  was  for  the  moment  the  representative  of  the 
Emperor.  He  dressed  himself  with  great  care  in 
a  uniform  resplendent  with  gold  braid.  He  combed 
and  brushed  his  beard  into  a  state  of  glossiness.  He 
twisted  the  ends  of  his  moustache  into  fine  points. 
He  reflected  that  if  the  American  girl  were  really 
enormously  wealthy  and  if,  which  he  doubted,  her 
manners  were  tolerable,  it  might  be  worth  while  to 
marry  her.  He  would,  no  doubt,  lose  caste  to  some 
extent  if  he  did  so;  but  her  money  would  be  very 
useful  to  him  and  it  would  be  unnecessary  after- 
wards to  see  much  of  the  girl  herself.  He  rubbed 
on  his  head  a  strongly  scented  preparation  guaran- 
teed to  give  a  shine  to  the  dullest  hair.  He  went 
ashore  in  a  boat  rowed  by  six  men.  A  flag  drooped 
from  the  staff  at  the  stern,  just  touching  the  water 
with  its  lowest  corner. 

197 


198  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

Gorman  received  him  in  the  large  hall  of  the 
palace. 

"Mr.  Donovan,  I  presume,"  said  Captain  von 
Moll.  "It  gives  me  pleasure  to  meet  you." 

Gorman  explained  who  he  was  and  said  that 
Donovan  was  unable  to  be  present  at  dinner  owing 
to  the  condition  of  his  heart.  Von  Moll  said  that 
he  derived  equal  pleasure  from  meeting  Mr.  Gor- 
man. Then  the  Queen  swept  into  the  hall,  followed 
by  Kalliope.  She  was  dressed  in  a  pale-blue  gown 
which  glittered  with  sequins.  She  wore  a  diamond 
star  in  her  hair.  She  walked  slowly  and  held  her- 
self very  erect.  Kalliope,  walking  behind  her, 
added  to  the  dignity  of  her  entrance. 

Von  Moll  stepped  forward,  stood  in  the  middle  of 
the  floor,  clicked  his  heels  together  and  bowed  low. 
The  Queen,  ignoring  him  for  the  moment,  shook 
hands  warmly  with  Gorman  and  welcomed  him  to 
Salissa.  Then  she  held  out  her  hand  to  von  Moll. 
He  bent  over  it  and  touched  it  with  his  lips. 

"I  have  to  tender  an  apology,"  he  said.  "This 
morning,  much  to  my  regret,  some  of  my  men 
stopped  your  boat.  They  have  been  placed  under 
arrest." 

Gorman  is  of  opinion  that  von  Moll  was  genuinely 
anxious  to  make  himself  agreeable  to  the  Queen. 
He  probably  could  not  help  looking  her  over  from 
head  to  foot  as  a  man  might  look  over  a  horse  he 
thought  of  buying.  That  was  simply  his  nature. 
He  regarded  women  as  useful  and  desirable  cattle. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  199 

Jt  would  not  have  occurred  to  him  that  any  woman 
•would  think  of  herself  as  his  equal. 

The  Queen  flushed  a  little  under  his  gaze;  but 
she  accepted  the  apology  at  its  face  value. 

"Oh,  it's  all  right,"  she  said.  "But  I  hope  you 
have  not  punished  the  men.  I  wouldn't  like  to 
think  of  their  getting  into. trouble  through  me." 

"You  are  kind,"  said  von  Moll,  "but  it  is  neces- 
sary to  maintain  discipline.  The  men  exceeded 
their  orders." 

Then  Smith  announced  that  dinner  was  served. 
The  Queen  led  the  way  into  the  dining-room.  She 
took  her  place  at  the  head  of  the  table.  Gorman  and 
von  Moll  sat  one  on  each  side  of  her.  Von  Moll's 
eyes  wandered  over  the  appointments  of  the  meal, 
the  tall  silver  candlesticks,  the  exquisite  linen,  the 
fine  glass.  They  rested  with  particular  pleasure 
on  the  menu  card  which  stood  in  front  of  him.  It 
promised  a  luxurious  dinner.  He  tucked  his  napkin 
under  his  chin  with  an  air  of  satisfaction. 

Kalliope  stood  behind  the  Queen's  chair  and 
waited  on  her.  Smith  served  the  two  men.  At  the 
vacant  end  of  the  table  stood  the  three  island  girls 
whom  Smith  had  in  training.  They  were  no 
particular  use,  but  they  were  pretty  girls  and  they 
added  something  to  the  dignity  of  the  scene.  They 
were  elaborately  dressed  in  a  glorified  form  of  the 
bright  costume  of  the  island  women.  Gorman 
noticed  that  von  Moll  eyed  them  with  appreciation. 

"I  do  wish  you'd  tell  me,"  said  the  Queen,  "why 
you  didn't  want  me  to  go  to  the  cave  this  morning." 


200  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"My  orders,"  said  von  Moll,  "were  not  meant  to 
apply  to  you.  I  merely  wished  to  prevent  the 
islanders  from  interfering  with  my  men  at  their 
work.  .That  is  all." 

"It  sounds  very  interesting,"  said  Goman, 
"but  I  don't  know  what  happened.  Do  tell  me." 

"It  was  rather  exciting,"  said  the  Queen.  "Two 
of  Captain  von  Moll's  men  stopped  our  boat  and 
Kalliope  hit  one  of  them  with  an  oar.  Did  he  lose 
many  teeth  ?" 

Von  Moll  drew  himself  up  stiffly.  He  would  have 
been  better  pleased  if  the  Queen  had  tendered  some 
apology  to  him  and  promised  that  the  over-daring' 
Kalliope  should  be  punished.  It  is  a  serious  thing 
to  strike  a  seaman  of  the  Imperial  navy,  a  man 
wearing  the  Emperor's  uniform.  In  von  Moll's 
opinion  such  conduct  could  not,  without  grave 
impropriety,  be  described  as  "rather  fun."  He  was 
not  at  all  sure  that  the  German  navy  would  not 
suffer  in  prestige  among  the  islanders. 

"The  man,"  he  said  stiffly,  "had  three  teeth 
broken." 

"Oh,"  said  the  Queen,  "I'm  so  sorry,  and  I'm 
afraid  there's  no  dentist  on  the  island.  Still  it  was 
his  own  fault,  wasn't  it?" 

"I  am  sure,"  said  von  Moll,  "that  you  will 
punish  the  girl  suitably." 

The  Queen  looked  at  him  with  astonishment. 
She  had  not  the  slightest  intention  of  punishing 
Kalliope.  It  seemed  to  her  extraordinary  that  von 
Moll  should  suggest  such  a  thing.  She  was  a  little 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  201 

inclined  to  be  angry.  Then  she  thought  that  von 
Moll  must  be  making  a  joke.  He  looked  rather 
grim  and  solemn;  but  perhaps  that  was  the  way 
all  Germans  looked  when  they  made  jokes.  She 
laughed  in  polite  appreciation  of  von  Moll's  attempt 
at  humour. 

Gorman,  watching  with  twinkling  eyes,  was 
greatly  pleased.  Von  Moll  was  evidently  another 
Steinwitz  in  seriousness  and  pompous  dignity.  It 
was  a  delightfully  amusing  trait  in  the  German 
character. 

"I'm  still  rather  in  the  dark,"  he  said.  "Who's 
Kalliope?" 

"My  maid,"  said  the  Queen.     "There  she  is." 

Gorman  glanced  at  Kalliope  who  was  at  the 
moment  placing  a  plate  before  her  mistress.  The 
girl  grinned  at  him  in  a  friendly  way.  She  was  quite 
aware  that  she  was  the  subject  of  conversation. 

"It  strikes  me,  von  Moll,"  said  Gorman,  "that 
your  navy  hasn't  come  very  well  out  of  its  first 
regular  sea  battle." 

Von  Moll's  face  hardened  disagreeably.  It  was 
an  outrageous  thing  that  an  Irishman,  a  mere 
civilian,  who  apparently  had  no  right  to  wear  a 
uniform  of  any  kind,  should  poke  fun  at  the 
Imperial  navy.  He  wished  very  much  to  make  some 
reply  which  would  crush  Gorman  and  leave  him 
writhing  like  a  worm.  Unfortunately  it  is  very 
difficult  to  make  that  kind  of  reply  to  a  man  who 
insists  on  laughing  when  serious  subjects  are  under 


202  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

discussion.      Gorman,    still    watching    von    Mofl 
closely,  felt  pleased. 

"I  hope  the  Press  won't  get  hold  of  the  story,"  he 
said.  "Just  imagine  the  headlines.  'Grave  Inter- 
national Crisis.'  'Naval  Encounter  in  the  Cyrenian 
Sea.'  'Imperial  Gunboat' — they'd  be  sure  to  say 
gunboat,  you  know — 'attacked  by  a  girl.'  If  it 
had  been  a  man!  But  a  girl!  However,  I  won't 
mention  the  matter.  If  you  fix  that  fellow  up  with 
a  set  of  false  teeth  I  daresay  nobody  will  ever  hear 
about  the  business." 

Von  Moll  was  angry;  but  he  was  no  more  ready 
than  he  had  been  at  first  with  a  suitable  answer  for 
Gorman.  He  was  dimly  aware  that  if  he  gave  way 
to  his  feelings,  if  he  even  allowed  his  anger  to  ap- 
pear, this  grey-haired,  bantering  Irishman  would  be 
gratified.  He  had  just  sense  enough  to  realize  that 
he  must  make  some  pretence  at  laughing.  It  was, 
of  course,  impossible  for  him  to  regard  disrespect- 
ful remarks  about  the  German  navy  as  a  joke,  but 
he  succeeded  in  giving  a  kind  of  hoarse  cackle. 

Smith  was  conscious  of  a  want  of  harmony  in  the 
party.  He  became  most  vigilantly  attentive  to  the 
two  men  on  whom  he  waited.  Von  Moll  drank 
sherry  with  his  soup  and  two  glasses  of  hock  while 
he  ate  his  fish.  Smith  poured  him  out  a  glass  of 
champagne.  For  Gorman  he  opened  a  bottle  of 
Irish  whisky.  Then  he  handed  round  an  entree, 
a  fine  example  of  his  powers  as  a  cook. 

The  Queen,   too,   was   aware  that  von   Moll's, 
temper  had  been  ruffled.    She  turned  to  him  -with  a 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  203 

smile  and  made  a  banal,  but  quite  harmless  remark. 

"I  think  Salissa  is  a  perfectly  sweet  island,"  she 
said,  "don't  you  ?" 

Von  Moll  thought  it  an  exceedingly  dull  hole  and 
wished  to  say  so  plainly.  Perhaps  it  was  the  sight 
of  the  champagne  foaming  pleasantly  in  his  glass 
which  made  him  restrain  himself. 

"No  doubt  it  is  pleasant  as  a  holiday  resort,"  he 
said.  "For  a  few  weeks  one  might  find  life  agree- 
able enough ;  but  after  that " 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"Oh,"  said  the  Queen,  "I've  been  here  for  more 
than  two  months  already  and  I  like  it  better  every 
day." 

"Really?"  said  von  Moll.  "What  a  pity  that 
you  are  leaving  so  soon." 

"But  I'm  not  leaving.  What  makes  you  think  I 
am?" 

"I  understand,"  said  von  Moll,  "that  Mr.  Dono- 
van has  resold  the  island  to  King  Konrad  Karl." 

"Whatever  put  that  into  your  head?"  said  the 
Queen. 

"I  am  perhaps  mistaken,"  said  von  Moll,  "in 
saying  that  the  island  has  already  been  resold; 
but  very  soon  it  will  be." 

"Oh  no,  it  won't,"  said  the  Queen.  "It's  my 
island,  you  know,  my  very  own,  and  I  wouldn't  part 
with  it  for  anything  you  could  offer  me." 

"I  understand,"  said  von  Moll,  "that  it  is  the 
Emperor's  wish  that  the  island  should  revert  to  the 
Crown  of  Megalia." 


204  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

He  spoke  with  a  certain  ponderous  assurance. 
There  was  evidently  no  doubt  whatever  in  his  mind 
that  the  Emperor's  wish  settled  the  matter.  The 
Queen's  next  remark  must  have  startled  him. 

"What  on  earth  has  the  Emperor  got  to  do  with 
it?"  she  said.  "Who  is  the  Emperor,  any- 
way?" 

"Now  that,"  said  Gorman,  "is  what  I'm  always 
asking.  Where  does  the  Emperor  come  in?  I 
asked  Steinwitz.  I  asked  King  Konrad  Karl.  I 
asked  that  footling  ass  Bland-Potterton.  They 
don't  any  of  them  seem  to  be  able  to  do  more 
than  just  gasp  and  say  'The  Emperor'  over  and 
over  again." 

"The  Emperor's  wish "  said  von  Moll. 

"There  you  go,"  said  Gorman.  "That's  exactly 
what  I'm  complaining  about.  I  ask  what  the 
Emperor  has  got  to  do  with  it  and  all  the  answer 
I  get  is  The  Emperor.'  " 

"Anyway,"  said  the  Queen  decisively,  "the  Em- 
peror has  nothing  to  do  with  me  and  I'm  not 
going  to  sell  Salissa  to  him  or  any  one  else." 

Von  Moll  was  master  of  himself  this  time.  No 
doubt  it  appeared  to  him  that  this  defiance  of  the 
Emperor's  wish  was  childish,  unworthy  of  the 
attention  of  a  serious  man.  The  silly  girl  who  sat 
at  the  end  of  the  table  playing  at  being  a  queen 
would  pack  up  her  boxes  and  leave  the  island  on 
the  day  fixed  by  the  Emperor.  Meanwhile  she 
looked  quite  pretty,  prettier  than  he  thought  she 
could  look,  with  her  heightened  colour,  sparkling 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  205 

eyes,  and  slightly  parted  lips.  He  began  to  think 
that  it  might  be  worth  his  while  to  marry  her  in 
spite  of  her  bourgeoise  blood.  He  looked  at  her  with 
cool,  appraising  eyes.  The  slight  smile  on  his  lips 
was  the  only  evidence  of  the  contempt  he  felt  for  a 
girl  who  thought  she  could  resist  the  Emperor. 

After  that,  conversation  at  the  dinner  table 
became  rather  difficult.  Smith  did  the  best  he 
could  with  the  champagne  bottle,  but  the  wine 
seemed  only  to  increase  von  Moll's  conviction  of  his 
own  superior  wisdom.  The  Queen  drank  nothing 
but  water,  so  her  temper  preserved  its  raw  edge. 
It  fell  to  Gorman  to  keep  things  going.  He  told  a 
series  of  stories  about  Ireland,  all  of  them  good 
stories,  some  of  them  partly  true.  No  one  laughed, 
except  Kalliope,  who  did  not  understand  the  stories 
but  liked  the  twinkle  in  Gorman's  eyes.  At  the 
end  of  each  story  he  asked  von  Moll  how  he  thought 
the  Emperor  would  deal  with  a  country  like  Ireland. 
Von  Moll  twisted  his  moustaches  fiercely  and  told 
Gorman  that  if  Ireland  had  been  a  German  depen- 
dency she  would  have  ceased  to  trouble  the  world 
early  in  the  eighteenth  century.  Gorman  listened 
with  every  appearance  of  deference  and  docility, 
while  von  Moll  explained  the  Prussian  way  of 
dealing  with  people  like  the  Irish. 

The  Queen  could  not  cut  the  dinner  short. 
Smith  had  provided  many  courses  and  it  was 
impossible  to  skip  any  of  them.  But  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment  she  got  up  and  left  the  room. 
Gorman  closed  the  door  behind  her  and  then  drew 


206  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

his  chair  close  to  that  on  which  von  Moll  was  sitting. 
Smith  brought  in  coffee  and  liqueurs.  Gorman  took 
the  brandy  bottle  off  the  tray  and  set  it  on  the 
table  at  von  Moll's  elbow.  Smith  made  an  effort 
to  recover  the  bottle  and  carry  it  away.  He  seemed 
to  think  that  von  Moll  had  had  enough  to  drink. 
Gorman  was  of  the  same  opinion,  but  he  did  not 
allow  Smith  to  carry  off  the  brandy  bottle.  He 
thought  that  von  Moll  might  be  very  interesting  if 
he  took  rather  more  than  enough  to  drink.  When 
Smith,  after  hovering  about  for  some  time,  left  the 
room,  Gorman  refilled  von  Moll's  glass. 

"Silly  little  thing,  Miss  Donovan,"  he  said,  in  a 
confidential  tone. 

"That  is  so,"  said  von  Moll. 

"In  Germany,"  said  Gorman,  "you  put  that  sort 
of  young  person  into  her  place  at  once,  I  suppose." 

"In  Germany,"  said  von  Moll,  "she  would  not 
exist." 

He  spoke  with  ponderous  gravity.  Gorman  was 
pleased  to  see  that  he  was  becoming  more  ponderous 
as  he  drank  glass  after  glass  of  brandy. 

"That  cave  incident,  for  instance,"  said  Gorman. 
"I  call  it  cheek  her  trying  to  get  into  the  cave  when 
you  had  sentries  posted  outside  to  stop  her.  By  the 
way,  what  had  you  in  the  cave  that  you  didn't  want 
her  to  see?  A  girl?" 

Von  Moll  leered  in  a  most  disgusting  manner. 
Gorman  poured  him  out  another  glass  of  brandy. 

"You  naval  men,"  he  said,  "you're  always  the 
same.  No  girl  can  resist  you.  But,  I  say,  you'd 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  207 

really  better  keep  it  dark  about  that  man  of  yours 
getting  his  teeth  knocked  out.  If  there  were  any 
kind  of  inquiry  and  it  came  out  about  your  being 
in  the  cave  with  one  of  the  island  girls " 

"There  was  no  girl  in  the  cave,"  said  von 
Moll. 

"Come  now !  I  won't  give  you  away.  Between 
ourselves.  We  are  both  men  of  the  world." 

"I  have  said.    There  was  no  girl." 

"Oh  well,"  said  Gorman,  "I  suppose  you  were 
writing  poetry  and  didn't  want  to  be  disturbed. 
What  was  it?  An  ode  to  the  Fatherland,  'Oh, 
Deutschland,  Deutschland-!'— that  kind  of  thing." 

Von  Moll  strongly  suspected  that  Gorman  was 
laughing  at  him  again.  It  seemed  almost  incredible 
that  any  one  would  dare  to  do  such  a  thing,  but 
Gorman  was  plainly  an  irresponsible  person. 

"I  was,"  said  von  Moll,  "carrying  out  the  orders 
of  the  Emperor." 

"The  Emperor  again,"  said  Gorman.  "But 
this  time  it  won't  do.  It  really  won't.  You  can't 
expect  me  to  believe  that  the  Emperor  sent  you  all 
the  way  to  Salissa  to  write  poetry  in  a  cave." 

"There  was  no  poetry.  The  Emperor's  orders 
were  not  about  poetry.  They  were  about " 

Von  Moll  stopped  abruptly  and  winked  at  Gorman 
with  drunken  solemnity. 

"I  don't  give  your  Emperor  credit  for  much 
intelligence,"  said  Gornian,  "but  he  must  surely 
have  more  sense  than  to  give  orders  of  any  kind 
about  a  cave  in  an  out-of-the-way  potty  little  island 


208  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

like  this.    Why  can't  you  tell  the'truth,  von  Moll?" 

Von  Moll  straightened  himself  in  his  chair  and 
glared  at  Gorman.  His  eyes  were  wide  open,  so 
wide  that  a  rim  of  white  showed  all  round  the  pupils. 
His  forehead  was  deeply  wrinkled.  His  nostrils 
were  distended. 

"Gott  in  \Himtnel!"  he  said,  "you  doubt  my 
word." 

Gorman  chuckled.  Von  Moll  was  decidedly  amus- 
ing when  partially  drunk.  His  glare — he  continued 
to  glare  in  the  most  ferocious  manner — was  a  most 
exciting  thing  to  see. 

"There  is  no  use  looking  at  me  like  that,"  said 
Gorman.  "I  shan't  fight.  I  never  do.  I'm  not 
that  kind  of  man.  The  fact  is  I  don't  like  fighting." 

"I  believe  it,"  said  von  Moll. 

He  spoke  with  a  sneer,  a  heavily  accentuated 
sneer.  It  was  more  like  the  sneer  of  the  villain  of 
old-fashioned  melodrama  than  anything  Gorman 
had  ever  seen. 

"If  you  want  a  scrap,"  said  Gorman,  "really  want 
it,  you  know,  you  ought  to  knock  up  Phillips  on 
your  way  back  to  your  boat.  He's  the  first  officer 
of  the  Ida.  He'll  take  you  on.  He's  six  foot  one 
and  weighs  about  fourteen  stone.  He'll  simply  wipe 
the  floor  with  you;  so  unless  you're  really  keen  on 
fighting  some  one  you'd  perhaps  better  leave  him 
alone." 

"I  stay  here  no  longer,"  said  von  Moll. 

He  rose  and  crossed  the  room  quite  steadily,  but 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  209 

putting  his  feet  down  with  extreme  care.  He 
reached  the  door  and  bowed  to  Gorman. 

Gorman  leaned  back  in  his  chair  and  lit  a  cigar. 
He  had  enjoyed  the  evening.  He  had  also  found 
out  something  that  he  wanted  to  know.  The  Em- 
peror really  did  intend  to  make  use  of  the  island 
of  Salissa  in  some  way.  He  wondered  whether  the 
cave  which  the  Queen  had  been  forbidden  to  enter 
was  the  same  cave  which  contained  the  iron  cisterns. 

The  Queen,  sitting  at  her  window,  heard  von 
Moll  leave  the  house  and  go  down  the  steps  towards 
the  landing  place.  Smith  was  with  him,  seeing 
him  safely  to  the  boat  which  waited  for  him. 

"So,"  said  von  Moll,  "I  telegraph  to  Berlin  and 
I  forward  your  letters." 

He  spoke  in  German,  but  he  spoke  very  deliber- 
ately, pronouncing  each  word  carefully.  The  Queen 
had  no  difficulty  in  understanding  what  he  said. 
Smith  replied  in  a  much  lower  tone.  She  could 
not  hear  him. 

"Ach"  said  von  Moll,  "the  old  man  is  a  fool, 
good.  And  the  girl — do  you  know,  Fritz,  I  think 
I  shall  marry  the  girl !" 

The  Queen  shut  her  window.  She  had  no  wish 
to  hear  more  of  von  Moll's  plans.  She  was  insulted 
and  very  angry.  It  was  not  until  she  thought  the 
matter  over  coolly  next  day  that  it  occurred  to  her 
as  strange  that  von  Moll  should  have  addressed 
Smith  as  Fritz.  The  man's  Christian  name  was  Ed- 
ward. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

T  AM  uncomfortably  aware  that  this  history  of 
•*•  recent  events  in  Salissa  is  sadly  deficient  in  the 
matter  of  dates.  I  am  not  to  blame.  If  I  could 
I  should  date  each  chapter  accurately.  Unfortu- 
nately, not  one  of  the  people  chiefly  concerned  kept 
a  diary.  They  all  remember  events  very  well  and 
are  most  willing  to  describe  them  for  me,  but  they 
cannot  remember  exactly  when  things  happened. 
I  am  therefore  particularly  pleased  to  be  able  at 
this  point  to  give  two  definite  dates.  The  Ida  ar- 
rived at  Salissa  with  Gorman  on  board  on  July  8. 
She  left  again  on  July  u.  I  dragged  this  informa- 
tion out  of  Captain  Wilson.  He  no  longer  has 
access  to  the  Idafs  log-books.  They  passed  into 
Steinwitz'  hands  and  disappeared  when  his  office 
was  closed  at  the  outbreak  of  war.  But  Captain 
Wilson  kept  a  private  notebook.  He  referred  to 
it,  with  considerable  reluctance,  when  I  pressed  him. 
Taking  these  two  dates  as  fixed,  we  are  able  to 
say  for  certain  that  von  Moll  reached  the  island 
during  the  night  of  July  7  and  8,  ten  days  after  the 
Serajevo  assassinations.  He  was  occupied  with  his 
business  in  the  cave  all  day  of  July  8.  He  left 
Salissa  early  on  July  9.  He  might  easily  have  made 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  211 

any  one  of  three  or  four  ports  on  the  mainland  be- 
fore evening  that  day.  A  telegram  sent  to  Berlin 
might  have  been  in  the  hands  of  some  responsible 
person  that  night.  Smith's  letters  would  follow  at 
once  by  a  special  messenger.  We  may  take  it  that 
the  Emperor's  secret  service  agents,  perhaps  the 
Emperor  himself,  knew  on  July  10  that  the  island 
would  not  be  resold  to  King  Konrad  Karl. 

The  sailing  of  the  Ida  so  soon  as  three  days  after 
her  arrival  puzzled  me  at  first.  Captain  Wilson 
would  say  nothing  except  that  he  obeyed  orders. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  he  seems  to  have  worried  every- 
body until  he  got  the  order  he  wanted.  The  Ida 
carried  very  little  cargo  to  the  island  on  her  second 
voyage  and  was  unloaded  in  a  few  hours.  Captain 
Wilson  received  from  the  Queen  the  lists  she  had 
prepared  of  tools,  engines  and  material  for  carrying 
out  her  schemes  of  improvement.  He  was  given 
a  few  letters  by  Donovan  and  by  Smith.  Then 
there  was  no  reason  why  he  should  not  start. 

Nor  was  there  any  reason  why  Gorman  should 
not  have  gone  with  him.  It  was,  indeed,  plainly 
Gorman's  duty  to  get  back  to  England  as  quickly  as 
possible.  His  mission  had  completely  failed.  The 
Queen  would  not  sell  the  island.  She  would  cer- 
tainly not  marry  Konrad  Karl.  Ireland  was  at 
the  moment  passing  through  a  crisis,  and  Gorman, 
as  one  of  her  statesmen,  ought  to  have  been  at  hand 
with  advice.  But  Gorman — he  owes  a  good  deal 
of  his  attractiveness  to  this — never  allows  himself 
to  be  hampered  by  words  like  "ought"  and  "duty." 


212  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

An  Irish  crisis  is  an  interesting  thing;  but  it  is 
by  no  means  uncommon,  and  the  details  are  always 
more  or  less  the  same.  The  affairs  of  Salissa  had 
certain  novel  features  which  were  exceedingly  at- 
tractive and  Gorman  had  never  before  had  an  op- 
portunity of  mixing  himself  up  in  foreign  politics. 
English  statesmen,  especially  Liberals,  who  regard 
Ireland  with  serious  intensity  of  feeling,  offer  great 
opportunities  to  men  of  Gorman's  temperament. 
But  he  thought  that  still  more  amusement  might 
be  obtained  by  playing  politics  with  people  like 
Steinwitz,  von  Moll,  and  the  immensely  pompous 
Emperor. 

Donovan  was  anxious  that  Gorman  should  stay 
on  the  island.  He  listened,  reluctantly,  to  all  the 
Queen  had  to  tell  him.  He  heard  about  the  cis- 
terns in  the  cave.  He  was  told  of  von  Moll's 
mysterious  activities,  of  Smith's  suspicious  conduct, 
of  the  Emperor's  fixed  determination  to  get  the 
island  back  for  Konrad  Karl.  He  professed  to 
regard  the  whole  business  as  a  bore. 

"Buried  treasure,  pirate  hoards  and  other  mys- 
teries," he  said,  "have  no  kind  of  attraction  for 
me.  I  feel  sort  of  discouraged  when  they  bubble 
up  round  me.  You're  young,  Daisy,  and  naturally 
inclined  to  romantic  joys.  Just  you  butt  in  and 
worry  round  according  to  your  own  fancy.  There's 
only  one  thing  I'd  rather  you  didn't  do.  Don't 
get  interfering  in  any  serious  way  with  Smith. 
Smith's  a  valuable  man." 

Later  on  he  spoke  to  Gorman. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  213 

"As  a  public  man,"  he  said,  "your  time  has  got 
value.  You're  wanted,  Gorman,  and  that's  a  fact. 
The  cause  of  Ireland  is  a  sacred  trust  and  I'm  not 
speaking  against  it;  but  if  a  subscription  to  the 

party  funds  would  set  you  free  for  a  month 

Now  can  another  patriot  be  hired  at  a  reasonable 
salary  to  take  your  place?  If  he  can,  you  name  the 
figure  and  I'll  write  the  cheque.  The  fact  is,  it'll 
be  a  mighty  convenient  thing  to  me  if  you'll  take 
hold  of  things'  here.  Daisy's  dead  set  on  unearthing 
mysteries.  I  don't  say  there  aren't  any  mysteries. 
There  may  be.  But  it  doesn't  suit  me  to  be 
wrapped  up  in  them.  Then  I  understand  that  one 
of  your  European  monarchs  is  fidgeting  round, 
wanting  to  take  this  island  off  my  hands.  Daisy 
says  he's  an  Emperor.  Now  I  won't  have  emperors 
worrying  me.  I've  never  gone  in  for  emperors  to 
any  extent,  and  I'm  not  inclined  to  begin  now. 
I'm  a  plain  American  citizen  with  democratic  prin- 
ciples and  a  disordered  heart.  I'd  be  obliged  to 
you,  Gorman,  if  you'd  stay  here  and  kind  of  elbow 
off  that  Emperor  when  he  intrudes.  There's  only 
one  point  about  which  I'd  like  you  to  be  careful. 
I  mentioned  it  to  Daisy.  She  tells  me  that  Smith 
answers  to  the  name  of  Fritz  and  she  regards  that  as 
a  suspicious  circumstance.  Now,  it  doesn't  matter 
a  cent  to  me  whether  Smith  calls  himself  Fritz  or 
Leonardo  da  Vinci  or  Ivanovitch  Ivanokoff.  So 
long  as  he  isn't  signing  cheques  one  name  is  as  good 
as  another.  And  if  Smith  writes  letters  to  the 
Emperor — that's  what  Daisy  says — I  don't  see  that 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

it  hurts  me  any.  Every  man  has  his  own  little 
pleasures,  and  in  a  free  country  he  oughtn't  to  be 
hindered  in  the  pursuit.  I've  known  men  who 
collected  stamps.  It  seemed  foolish  to  me,  but  it 
didn't  interfere  with  me.  Same  thing  with  Smith. 
I  don't  happen  to  care  about  writing  letters  to 
emperors,  but  Smith  does.  See?" 

Gorman  did  not  want  to  worry  or  annoy  Smith 
in  any  way.  He  recognized  the  man's  value.  His 
mind  was  more  actively  curious  than  Donovan's. 
He  wanted  to  know  what  was  going  on,  what  von 
Moll  had  been  doing,  what  the  Emperor  aimed  at, 
what  Smith's  real  business  was,  but  he  also  ap- 
preciated, no  less  than  Donovan,  good  food,  com- 
fort and  smooth  service.  He  liked  to  be  sure 
that  his  wants  would  be  supplied,  his  wishes  antici- 
pated, his  habits  intelligently  studied.  Without 
Smith  life  on  Salissa  would  be  robbed  of  a  great 
deal  which  made  it  attractive. 

When  Gorman  made  up  his  mind  to  stay  on 
Salissa  he  wrote  three  letters.  One  of  them  was  to 
King  Konrad  Karl  and  was  addressed  to  an  hotel 
in  Paris.  He  said  briefly  that  the  Donovans  would 
not  sell  the  island  and  that  it  was  not  the  least 
use  trying  to  arrange  a  marriage  with  the  Queen. 
He  advised  the  King  to  enjoy  himself  as  much  as  he 
could  in  Paris  and  to  spend  his  money  before  it  was 
taken  from  him.  He  added  a  postscript. 

"If  the  Emperor  sends  a  man  called  von  Moll  to 
negotiate  with  you — a  sort  of  naval  officer  who 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  215 

likes  giving  orders — ask  him  whether  he  had  many 
casualties  in  his  last  sea  battle." 

His  next  letter  was  to  Steinwitz.  In  it,  too,  he 
announced  the  complete  failure  of  his  mission. 

"The  fact  is,"  he  added,  by  way  of  explanation, 
"that  these  Americans  don't  know  enough  about 
your  Emperor  to  be  properly  impressed.  Could  you 
send  along  a  good-sized  photo  of  him,  in  uniform  if 
possible?  I  am  sure  it  would  have  a  great  effect." 

Then  he  wrote  to  Sir  Bartholomew  Bland-Potter- 
ton.  Knowing  how  all  members  of  our  governing 
classes  delight  in  official  fussiness  he  threw  his 
letter  into  a  telegraphic  form. 

"Things  more  complicated  than  anticipated,"  he 
wrote.  "Will  Government  recognize  Salissa  as  in- 
dependent state?  Query  attitude  President  U.  S.  A. 
Urgent. — GORMAN." 

He  read  over  what  he  had  written  with  extreme 
satisfaction.  It  pleased  him  to  think  that  Stein- 
witz would  immediately  go  out  and  buy  an  enor- 
mous photograph  of  the  Emperor;  that  he  would 
send  it  out  to  Salissa  with  perfect  confidence  in  the 
effect  it  would  produce.  It  was  also  pleasant  to 
think  of  Konrad  Karl  and  Madame  Ypsilante  mak- 
ing efforts  to  get  rid  of  the  remains  of  Donovan's 
money  by  scattering  it  about  the  streets  of  Paris. 
But  his  despatch  to  Bland-Potterton  pleased  him 
most  of  all.  He  imagined  that  gentleman,  swollen 
with  the  consciousness  of  important  news,  dashing 


216  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

off  to  the  Foreign  Office  in  a  taxi-cab,  posing  Min- 
isters of  State  with  unanswerable  conundrums,  very 
probably  ruffling  the  calm  waters  of  Washington 
with  cablegrams  of  inordinate  length  and  fierce 
urgency. 

He  rang  the  bell  for  Smith. 

"I've  just  written  some  letters,"  he  said ;  "will 
you  send  them  off  to  the  Ida  and  ask  Captain  Wilson 
to  have  them  posted  when  he  arrives  in  London 
or  earlier  if  he  calls  at  any  intermediate  port." 

"Yes,  sir.  Certainly,  sir.  Beg  pardon,  sir,  but 
will  you  be  staying  on  in  the  palace?" 

"For  a  week  or  two,  Smith." 

"Thank  you,  sir.  I'll  make  all  arrangements. 
Your  luggage  will  be  fetched  from  the  steamer. 
If  you  leave  your  keys  with  me  I'll  see  to  the  un- 
packing." 

Gorman  had  no  keys. 

"By  the  way,  Smith,  what's  your  Christian 
name?" 

"Edward,  sir." 

"I  asked,"  said  Gorman,  "because  I'd  a  sort  of 
idea  that  Captain  von  Moll  called  you  Fritz  last 
night." 

"Very  likely,  sir.  I  didn't  notice.  It  struck  me, 
sir — I  don't  know  whether  you  noticed  it — that  the 
German  gentleman  wasn't  quite  himself  after  din- 
ner. He  might  have  called  me  Fritz,  mistaking  me 
for  some  one  else.  I  understand,  sir,  that  Fritz  is  a 
common  name  in  Germany." 

"Very  likely,"  said  Gorman. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  217 

Smith  left  the  room.  In  ten  minutes  he  was  back 
again 

"Luncheon  is  served,  sir.  In  the  small  verandah 
at  the  south  end  of  the  palace.  Shall  I  show 
you  the  way?" 

He  guided  Gorman  to  the  small  verandah,  a 
pleasant,  shady  place,  opening  off  the  room  in  which 
they  had  dined  the  night  before. 

"Is  the  Queen  coming?"  asked  Gorman. 

"I've  sent  a  maid  to  inform  her  Majesty  the 
luncheon  is  served,  sir." 

Smith  stood  ready  for  his  duties  at  the  end  of  the 
table.  Gorman  noticed  that  three  places  had  been 
laid. 

"Mr.  Donovan  coming?"  he  asked. 

"No,  sir.  Mr.  Donovan  scarcely  feels  well 
enough.  I'm  expecting  Mr.  Phillips,  sir.  He's  with 
her  Majesty." 

"Ah,"  said  Gorman.     "They  may  be  late." 

They  were  late.  A  quarter  of  an  hour  late. 
Gorman  guessed  the  reason  at  once.  No  formal 
announcement  was  made,  but  he  felt  certain  that 
in  the  course  of  the  morning  they  had  arrived  at  a 
satisfactory  understanding  and  were  engaged  to  be 
married.  Gorman  felt  satisfied  that  the  Emperor's 
plan  for  the  Queen's  future  was  not  quite  hopeless. 

Luncheon  was  a  difficult  meal  for  him.  He  did 
his  best  to  keep  up  a  conversation,  but  neither  the 
Queen  nor  Phillips  seemed  capable  of  understanding 
what  he  said.  If  they  answered  him  at  all  they  said 
things  which  were  totally  irrelevant.  For  the  most 


2i8  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

part  they  did  not  answer.  They  gazed  at  each  other 
a  good  deal  and  Gorman  detected  Phillips  trying  to 
hold  the  Queen's  hand  under  the  table.  Phiflips 
dropped  his  fork  three  times.  The  Queen  looked 
very  pretty,  much  prettier  than  she  had  the  night 
before  when  she  was  angry  with  von  Moll. 

Gorman,  in  spite  of  his  cynicism,  is  a  kind-hearted 
man.  It  gave  him  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  to  see  a 
girl  and  a  boy  in  a  condition  of  almost  delirious 
happiness.  But  he  felt  that  they  ought  not  to  be 
entirely  selfish.  They  intended,  apparently,  to  go 
off  after  luncheon,  to  a  distant  part  of  the  island, 
accompanied  by  Kalliope,  whom  they  could  not 
well  shake  off.  Gorman  did  not  want  to  be  left 
alone  all  the  afternoon. 

"What  about  going  to  that  cave  ?"  he  said.  "I'd 
rather  like  to  find  out  what  von  Moll  was  doing 
there  yesterday." 

The  Queen  and  Phillips  looked  at  each  other. 
They  had  done  little  less  except  look  at  each  other 
since  they  came  in  to  luncheon.  But  this  time  they 
looked  with  a  new  expression.  Instead  of  fatuous 
felicity,  their  faces  suggested  disappointment. 

"I  think  we  ought  to  do  it,"  Gorman  went  on. 
"That  fellow  may  have  been  up  to  any  kind  of 
mischief.  By  the  way,  is  his  cave  the  one  the 
cisterns  are  in?" 

"Yes,"  said  the  Queen. 

"That  seems  to  me  to  settle  it,"  said  Gorman. 
"We  certainly  ought  to  take  the  matter  up  vigor- 
ously and  at  once." 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  219 

"I  suppose  so,"  said  Phillips. 

Gorman  was  really  anxious  to  find  out  what  had 
been  going-  on  in  the  cave.  The  fact  that  von  Moll 
had  been  acting  under  the  Emperor's  orders  stimu- 
lated curiosity.  It  had  been  puzzling  enough  to 
discover,  in  England,  that  the  Emperor  was  very 
anxious  to  remove  the  Donovans  from  the  island, 
and  was  prepared  to  adopt  all  sorts  of  tortuous 
ways  to  get  rid  of  them.  It  was  much  more  puzzling 
to  find  a  German  naval  officer  engaged  in  storing 
large  quantities  of  rubber  tubing  in  a  cave.  Gorman 
confesses  that  he  was  utterly  unable  to  make  any 
sort  of  guess  at  the  meaning  of  the  affair.  He  was 
all  the  more  anxious  to  begin  his  investigation. 

The  Queen  and  Phillips  cheered  up  a  little  when 
the  party  started  for  the  cave.  Kalliope  rowed,  as 
usual.  Gorman — all  successful  politicians  are  men 
of  tact — settled  himself  in  the  bow  of  the  boat. 
The  Queen  and  Phillips  were  together  in  the  stern 
and  held  each  other's  hands.  Gorman  pretended  to 
look  at  the  scenery.  Kalliope  made  no  pretence  at 
all.  She  watched  the  lovers  with  a  sympathetic 
smile.  She  was  in  no  way  embarrassed  by  them. 

No  one — I  judge  by  Gorman's  description — was 
ever  more  helplessly  in  love  than  Phillips.  But 
even  he  was  roused  to  other  feelings  when  the 
boat  grounded  on  the  stony  beach  in  the  cave.  He 
slipped  his  hand  from  the  Queen's  and  sprang 
ashore.  Even  from  the  boat,  before  crossing  the 
steep  stretch  of  stones,  there  were  some  interesting 
things  to  be  seen.  Von  Moll  had  left  his  rubber 


220  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

tubing  in  three  great  coils  in  front  of  the  cisterns. 
Gorman  and  the  Queen  followed  Phillips.  The 
three  stood  together  and  stared  at  the  hose.  Phillips 
estimated  that  there  must  have  been  three  or  four 
hundred  yards  of  it.  The  ends  of  each  coil  were 
fitted  with  brass  caps  intended  to  screw  together. 
Any  one  of  them  might  have  been  screwed  to  the 
cocks  of  the  cisterns. 

There  were  also  many  large  packing-cases,  stacked 
at  the  end  of  the  row  of  cisterns.  These  were 
strong,  well-made  cases  and  carefully  nailed  up. 
The  only  tool  possessed  by  the  party  was  Phillips' 
clasp  knife,  a  serviceable  instrument  for  many  pur- 
poses, but  no  use  for  opening  well-secured  packing- 
cases.  Gorman  fetched  one  of  the  iron  rowlocks 
from  the  boat,  but  nothing  could  be  done  with  it. 
The  cases  were  very  heavy.  Gorman  and  Phillips 
together  could  not  lift  one.  It  seemed  likely  that 
they  contained  metal  of  some  sort. 

The  cisterns  stood  exactly  where  the  Queen  and 
Phillips  had  seen  them  before.  But  now  they  were 
full  instead  of  being  empty.  Phillips  and  then 
Gorman  tapped  them  one  after  another.  They  were 
all  full,  up  to  the  very  tops.  Phillips  wasted  no 
time  in  speculating  about  what  they  contained. 
The  rubber  hose  was  unintelligible.  The  packing- 
cases  could  not  be  opened.  It  was  at  all  events 
possible  to  find  out  what  the  cisterns  contained. 
Phillips  turned  on  one  of  the  taps.  A  thin,  strongly 
smelling  liquid  streamed  out. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  221 

"I  know  that  smell,"  said  the  Queen.     "It's — 

It  is  extraordinarily  difficult  to  recognize  a  smell 
in  such  a  way  as  to  say  definitely  what  it  belongs 
to.  Phillips  and  Gorman  sniffed.  Like  the  Queen 
they  knew  the  smell  but  could  not  name  it.  It  was 
Gorman  who  fixed  it  first. 

"Petrol,"  he  said. 

"Of  course,"  said  the  Queen.  "I  knew  I  recog- 
nized it." 

"That's  it,"  said  Phillips.  "I  was  thinking  of 
Elliman's  Embrocation;  but  it's  petrol,  of  course." 

"There  must  be  gallons  of  it  here,"  said  Gorman. 
"Thousands  of  gallons." 

Phillips,  stretching  his  arms  wide,  began  to  make 
rough  measurements  of  the  cisterns. 

"Now  why  on  earth,"  said  Gorman,  '"should  the 
Emperor  want  to  store  up  huge  quantities  of  petrol 
in  this  cave?" 

It  seems  odd  now  that  any  one  could  possibly 
have  failed  to  guess  what  the  petrol  was  for  and 
why  it  was  there.  But  early  in  1914  very  few  people 
were  thinking  about  a  war  with  Germany.  Gorman, 
as  a  politician,  must  have  heard  some  talk  of  such 
a  possibility ;  but  no  doubt  he  regarded  all  he  heard 
as  part  of  the  game  that  politicians  play.  Gorman 
is  a  man  with  the  instincts  of  a  sportsman.  He 
thought,  without  any  bitterness,  of  the  war  threat 
as  a  move,  not  a  very  astute  move,  on  the  part  of 
an  imperialist  party  anxious  for  office.  It  was  com- 
parable to  those  which  his  own  party  played.  The 


222  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

Queen  and  Phillips  had  never  thought  about  Euro- 
pean politics  at  all. 

And  nobody,  at  that  time,  had  guessed  at  the 
part  which  submarines  were  to  play  in  war.  Civi- 
lians, even  well-informed  men  like  Gorman,  re- 
garded submarines  as  toys,  chiefly  dangerous  to  the 
crews  who  manned  them.  Phillips  probably  knew 
how  they  were  propelled.  Gorman  did  not.  He  had 
never  given  a  thought  to  the  subject.  Like  most  of 
the  rest  of  us  he  associated  petrol  only  with  motor- 
cars or  possibly  with  flying  machines.  It  did  not 
connect  itself  in  his  mind  with  submarines. 

"That  Emperor!"  said  Gorman.  "I'm  hanged 
if  I  understand." 

"The  Emperor?"  said  the  Queen.  "Why  should 
the  Emperor  be  mixed  up  with  it?" 

"Why  should  the  Emperor  be  mixed  up  with  the 
island?"  said  Gorman.  "Why  should  the  Emperor 
be  mixed  up  with  you?  Why  should  the  Emperor 
be  mixed  up  with  anything?  I  don't  know.  I 
can't  guess.  But  it  was  the  Emperor  who  sent  the 
stuff  here." 

Phillips  was  a  young  man  of  practical  mind,  very 
little  given  to  inquiring  into  causes  and  reasons. 
But  he  had  a  thoroughly  British  respect  for  the 
rights  of  property  and  the  privileges  of  ownership. 

"Anyhow,"  he  said,  "he's  no  earthly  right  to 
dump  his  stuff  here  without  asking  leave.  Salissa 
isn't  his  island." 

From  the  tap  which  he  had  already  turned  on  the 
petrol  was  flowing  freely.  It  trickled  down  among 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  223 

the  stones,  and  some  of  it  had  already  reached  the 
sea.  It  was  spreading,  a  smooth,  thin  film  across 
the  water  of  the  cave. 

"I  vote  we  run  it  all  off,"  he  said. 

He  looked  at  the  Queen  and  then  at  Gorman. 

"If  a  man  puts  his  cow  on  my  lawn,"  said  Gor- 
man, "I  suppose  I've  a  right  to  turn  it  out  again." 

That  was  approval  enough  for  Phillips.  He 
walked  deliberately  along  the  line  of  cisterns,  turn- 
ing on  the  taps  as  he  went. 

"Hold  on  a  minute,"  said  Gorman.  "We  don't 
want  the  stuff  flowing  over  the  Queen's  shoes.  She 
must  get  into  the  boat." 

A  few  minutes  later  the  water  of  the  cave  was 
entirely  covered  with  petrol.  The  air  was  acrid 
with  the  smell  of  it.  The  Queen  held  her  handker- 
chief to  her  nose. 

"Let's  get  out  of  this  as  quick  as  we  can,"  she 
said. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  next  fortnight  was  something  of  a  dis- 
appointment to  Gorman.  He  admits  that.  He 
had  made  his  choice  between  Ireland  and  Salissa. 
It  certainly  seemed  as  if  he  had  chosen  wrongly. 
I  remember — everybody  remembers — how  exciting 
Irish  affairs  were  during  the  latter  half  of  July, 
1914.  The  country  was  like  a  pot,  full  of  water 
on  the  verge  of  boiling.  Every  day  an  event  of 
some  sort  formed  like  a  bubble  far  down  in  the 
depths  of  Irish  life,  rose  rapidly,  and  burst  on  the 
surface  with  a  little  splash.  The  bubbles  were  large 
or  small,  sometimes  no  more  than  pinheads  in  size, 
but  they  were  evidences  that  the  boiling  point  was 
very  near.  The  surface  of  the  water,  that  region 
where  governing  persons  and  leaders  of  public  opin- 
ion air  themselves,  was  already  agitated  with  odd- 
looking  swirls,  sudden  swayings,  unaccountable 
swellings,  all  very  ominous  of  imminent  turmoil. 

There  were  landings  of  arms  here  and  there, 
furiously  denounced  by  the  people  who  had  run 
their  own  cargoes  the  week  before  or  intended  to 
run  them  the  next  week.  There  were  hurried 
gatherings  of  committees  which  sat  in  private  con- 
claves and  then  issued  manifestos  which  nobody 
224 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  225 

read.  Minor  officials  were  goaded  into  orgies  of 
fussiness.  Major  officials,  statesmen,  escaped  when 
they  could,  to  the  comparative  calm  of  suffragette- 
haunted  public  meetings  in  England.  A  Bucking- 
ham Palace  Conference  set  all  sorts  of  people  ar- 
guing about  constitutional  precedents  It  was  rec- 
ognized on  all  sides  that  a  settlement  of  the  Irish 
question  must  somehow  be  reached.  Gorman,  if 
he  had  stayed  at  home,  would  have  been  in  the  thick 
of  it  all.  It  is  perhaps  wrong  to  say  that  he  would 
have  enjoyed  himself  thoroughly;  but  life  would 
have  been  an  interesting  and  exciting  thing.  Salissa 
remained  provokingly  dull  and  uneventful. 

Gorman  went  to  the  cave  again,  on  the  day  after 
he  had  first  seen  the  tanks  and  run  von  Moll's  petrol 
to  waste.  He  went  by  himself.  The  Queen  and 
Phillips  took  no  further  interest  in  the  mystery  for 
the  moment.  They  went  off  together  early  in  the 
day  and  did  not  return  until  evening.  Even  Gor- 
man could  not  blame  them.  It  was  their  last  day 
together.  It  was  gloriously  fine.  The  island,  with 
its  white  cliffs,  its  golden-sanded  coves,  its  vine- 
yards, its  pleasant,  shaded  groves,  was  a  paradise 
for  lovers.  And  the  Ida — Captain  Wilson  insisted 
on  that — sailed  the  next  day,  carrying  Phillips  away 
with  her. 

Gorman  achieved  very  little  by  his  second  visit 
to  the  cave.  He  took  with  him  several  tools,  a  short 
axe,  a  screw-driver  and  a  hammer.  He  forced  open 
some  of  the  packing-cases  which  were  piled  near  the 
cistern.  They  were  filled  with  steel  bars  of  various 


226  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

sizes,  steel  wrought  into  various  shapes  and  odd- 
looking  coils  of  copper  wire.  Gorman  knew  little 
of  engineering  or  mechanics.  He  was  merely 
puzzled  by  what  he  saw.  It  seemed  to  him  that 
von  Moll  had  used  the  cave  as  a  storehouse  for 
uncompleted  machines  of  a  complicated  kind.  What 
the  machines  were  he  did  not  know.  Why  von 
Moll,  acting  no  doubt  by  the  Emperor's  orders, 
should  have  dumped  them  there  was  beyond  guess- 
ing. 

Though  Gorman  was  disappointed  he  found  life 
on  Salissa  pleasant  enough.  He  was  exceedingly 
comfortable,  thanks  to  Smith's  devotion  to  duty. 
He  had  many  long  talks  with  Donovan,  which  he 
enjoyed,  for  Donovan  was  always  amusing  and 
stimulating.  He  saw  a  great  deal  of  the  Queen, 
helped  her  to  make  plans  for  the  future  of  the 
island,  listened  when  she  talked  about  Phillips. 
There  was  a  mixture  of  shyness  with  frank  sim- 
plicity in  the  way  she  spoke  about  her  lover  which 
Gorman  found  very  attractive.  Sometimes  he  went 
out  with  Kalliope's  lover  in  the  largest  island  boat 
and  watched  the  casting  of  nets.  Once  or  twice 
he  tried  to  get  into  intimate  conversation  with 
Smith,  hoping  that  the  man,  caught  off  his  guard, 
might  drop  a  hint  that  would  give  some  clue  to  the 
meaning  of  the  cisterns,  the  petrol,  the  machinery 
and  the  Emperor's  curious  interest  in  the  island. 
'But  Smith  took  shelter  behind  the  manner  of  a 
good  servant,  the  most  impenetrable  of  all  defences. 
Gorman  never  got  anything  out  of  him  except  a 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  227 

deferential  "Yes,  sir,"  or,  in  reply  to  some  lead- 
ing question,  "Don't  know,  sir,  I'm  sure."  Or 
perhaps,  "Indeed,  sir!"  in  a  tone  of  respectful 
surprise. 

Gorman  was  at  that  time  inclined  to  think  that  he 
had  made  a  mistake  in  not  going  home  on  the  Ida. 
Apart  from  the  exciting  movements  of  Irish  affairs 
about  which  he  could  only  speculate,  he  felt  sure 
that  it  was  in  London,  not  on  the  island,  that  the 
most  important  developments  of  the  Salissa  mys- 
tery would  take  place.  He  wanted  to  know  what 
Steinwitz  was  doing,  and  whether  Konrad  Karl  was 
still  enjoying  his  spendthrift  holiday  in  Paris.  He 
would  have  liked  to  be  in  a  position  to  watch  the 
fussy  activities  of  Sir  Bartholomew  Bland-Potter- 
ton.  Later  on  I  was  able  to  tell  him  something,  not 
of  Steinwitz  or  Konrad  Karl,  but  about  Sir  Barthol- 
omew. It  was  impossible  to  live  in  London  during 
the  latter  part  of  July  without  perpetually  bumping 
against  Bland-Potterton.  He  was  like  the  ball  on 
a  rapidly  spun  roulette  board.  He  seemed  to  be 
flung  about  from  place  to  place  with  extreme  rapid- 
ity in  an  utterly  irregular  manner.  It  was  impos- 
sible to  guess  where  he  would  be  or  in  what  direc- 
tion he  would  move.  I  came  across  him  one  day 
in  Cockspur  Street.  He  was  signalling  wildly  for  a 
taxi-cab.  He  grasped  my  arm  with  his  left  hand 
and  shook  it  with  frenzied  vehemence. 

"Just  off  to  the  Foreign  Office,"  he  said.  "Can't 
wait  to  talk  now.  Haven't  a  minute.  See  you 
later." 


228  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

There  was  no  reason  why  he  should  have  stopped 
to  talk  to  me  even  if  he  had  not  been  going  to  the 
Foreign  Office.  I  should  certainly  not  have  tried 
to  detain  him.  Bland-Potterton  bores  me.  I  did 
indeed  see  him  later,  though  I  certainly  did  not  want 
to.  It  was  at  a  reception,  a  gorgeous  but  uncom- 
fortable affair  in  Ellesmere  House.  Bland-Potter- 
ton was  in  a  corner  with  a  highly  decorated  for- 
eigner who  looked  like  a  stage  brigand.  I  found  out 
afterwards  that  he  was  the  Megalian  ambassador. 
Bland-Potterton  was  talking  to  him  with  intense 
earnestness. 

Another  day  he  dashed  at  me  in  the  smoking- 
room  of  the  club.  I  was  half  asleep  at  the  moment 
and  desired  nothing  in  the  world  so  much  as  to  be  let 
alone.  But  Bland-Potterton  woke  me  by  whispering 
in  my  ear.  He  might  just  as  well  have  spoken  in 
the  ordinary  way.  There  was  only  one  other  man 
in  the  room  and  he  was  quite  asleep.  Besides, 
Bland-Potterton's  whisper  carries  further  than  most 
men's  conversational  voices. 

"Have  you,"  he  hissed,  "any  news  from  Gorman? 
A  letter?  A  message?  Anything?" 

"No,"  I  said,  "I  haven't.  Why  the  deuce  should 
I?  Is  he  gun-running,  or  threatening  to  vote 
against  the  Government,  or  likely  to  be  arrested?" 

"No,  no,  no.  Nothing  of  that  sort.  Nothing 
to  do  with  Ireland.  It's  this  unfortunate  business 
with  the  Emperor.  But  I  mustn't  say  any  more. 
The  Embassies  are  nervous,  you  know." 

"I  don't  know,"  I  said.    "Which  Embassies?" 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  229 

"The — the — the — well,  practically  all  except  the 
Chinese." 

"Wonderful  people  the  Chinese,"  I  said.  "So 
calm.  We  ought  to  imitate  them  more  than  we 
do." 

Bland-Potterton  did  not  think  so.  He  went  on 
fussing.  He  rushed  about  London,  creating  small 
whirlpools  behind  him  as  if  he  had  been  a  motor- 
boat.  I  had  the  greatest  difficulty  at  times  in  not 
being  sucked  into  his  wake. 

All  this  Gorman  would  have  enjoyed  hugely.  I 
felt  sorry  that  he  was  missing  it.  However,  in  the 
end  he  had  his  compensation. 

One  day  during  the  last  week  in  July — Gorman  is 
no  more  to  be  relied  on  for  an  exact  date  than 
Donovan  or  the  Queen — a  steamer  arrived  in 
Salissa.  She  was  a  remarkable  looking  steamer  and 
flew  a  flag  which  neither  Gorman  nor  Donovan  had 
ever  seen  before.  She  had  two  small  guns,  mounted 
one  on  the  fore-deck  and  one  right  aft.  She  had  a 
smart,  well-cared-for  look,  as  if  she  were  a  yacht,  or 
belonged  to  some  navy.  But  she  was  very  old. 
Gorman  says  that  she  reminded  him  of  the  pictures 
of  the  royal  yacht  in  which  Queen  Victoria  came  to 
Ireland  to  open  Kingstown  harbour  at  the  very 
beginning  of  her  reign.  She  was  a  paddle  steamer. 
She  had  an  exaggerated  form  of  fiddle  bow,  a  long 
bowsprit  and  two  tall  masts  on  which  sails  might 
easily  have  been  set. 

Gorman  is  nothing  of  a  sailor  and  is  almost 
totally  uninterested  in  ships.  This  steamer  must 


230  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

have  been  very  old-fashioned  indeed  to  have  struck 
him  as  being  odd.  She  arrived  in  the  harbour  at 
midday  and  splashed  about  a  good  deal  with  her 
paddles  as  if  she  were  rather  pleased  with  herself 
and  thought  she  had  a  right  to  the  admiration  of 
the  islanders.  There  was  only  one  modern  thing 
about  her.  The  splayed-out  wires  of  a  Marconi 
installation  stretched  between  her  masts. 

Gorman  was  sitting  with  Donovan  when  the 
steamer  arrived.  They  had  spent  a  pleasant  hour 
discussing,  in  a  desultory  manner,  whether  a  nation 
gains  or  loses  by  having  a  titled  aristocracy.  Dono- 
van preferred  the  British  to  the  American  system. 
Statesmen,  he  pointed  out,  must  make  some  return 
to  the  rich  for  the  money  which  they  provide  to 
keep  politics  going.  It  is  on  the  whole  better  to 
give  titles  than  to  alter  tariffs  in  return  for  sub- 
scriptions to  party  funds.  The  subject  was  not  a 
very  interesting  one  and  both  men  were  pleased 
when  the  arrival  of  the  steamer  gave  them  a  new 
topic. 

"Seems  to  me,"  said  Donovan,  "that  Daisy  might 
gather  in  some  revenue  by  charging  harbour  dues. 
This  is  the  second  ship,  not  reckoning  the  Ida,  which 
has  put  in  here  since  I  arrived." 

"I  don't  know  that  flag,"  said  Gorman.  "Not 
that  that  means  anything.  I  don't  suppose  there 
are  half  a  dozen  flags  that  I  do  know." 

"There  was  some  mention  made  of  an  Emperor," 
said  Donovan.  "Daisy  seemed  to  think  that  one 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  231 

might  come  nosing  round,  thinking  to  buy  the 
island.  Perhaps  that's  him." 

"Hardly  in  that  steamer/'  said  Gorman.  "She 
looks  as  if  she'd  been  built  a  hundred  years  ago. 
One  of  the  first  ever  launched,  I  should  think." 

"Well,"  said  Donovan,  "I'm  not  an  expert  in 
the  habits  of  European  Emperors;  but  I've  always 
been  told  that  the  state  coach  in  which  the  King 
of  England  goes  to  open  Parliament  dates  back  quite 
a  bit  in  the  matter  of  shape.  An  Emperor  might 
feel  that  he  owed  it  to  his  historic  past  to  sail  the 
ocean  in  the  nearest  thing  he  could  get  to  the  ark 
of  the  patriarch  Noah." 

The  argument  was  sound;  but  Gorman  was  not 
inclined  to  think  that  the  Emperor  was  paying  a 
visit  to  Salissa  in  person.  He  was  just  going  to 
say  so  when  Smith  came  on  to  the  balcony.  He 
carried  a  pair  of  field  glasses  in  his  hand,  which  he 
laid  on  the  table  beside  Donovan's  chair. 

"Beg  pardon,  sir,"  he  said.  "I  brought  up  the 
glasses  thinking  you  might  want  to  look  at  the 
strange  steamer." 

"Do  you  know  the  flag,  Smith  ?"  asked  Gorman. 

"No,  sir,  can't  say  I  do.  But  she  looks  like  a 
foreigner.  Not  English.  Shall  you  want  anything 
more,  sir?" 

Gorman  did  not  at  the  moment  want  anything 
which  Smith  would  supply.  He  wanted  informa- 
tion, but  it  was  useless  to  ask  for  that.  Smith, 
who  seemed  uninterested  in  the  steamer,  left  the 
balcony. 


232  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

Donovan  gazed  at  the  steamer  through  the 
glasses. 

"Well,"  he  said,  "if  it's  not  an  Emperor,  it's 
the  next  thing.  That's  our  little  friend  Konrad  Karl 
standing  on  the  deck." 

He  handed  the  glasses  to  Gorman. 

King  Konrad  Karl  stood  beside  the  gun  on  the 
after-deck  of  the  steamer.  He  looked  neat  and 
cool.  He  was  dressed  with  care  in  well-fitting  light 
grey  clothes,  a  soft  grey  hat  and  white  shoes. 
The  glasses  were  powerful.  Gorman  could  even  see 
that  he  wore  a  pale  mauve  tie. 

"I'm  pleased  to  see  that  monarch,"  said  Dono- 
van. "He  seemed  to  me  less  starched  than  most 
members  of  your  aristocracies  when  I  met  him  in 
London.  Where's  Daisy?  She'll  be  sorry  if  she 
misses  the  opportunity  of  welcoming  a  fellow  mon- 
arch to  her  shores." 

"I'm  afraid,"  said  Gorman,  "that  she's  off  at 
the  far  side  of  the  island.  She  told  me  this  morning 
that  she  was  going  over  there  to  plan  out  an  electric 
power  station.  There's  a  waterfall  somewhere.  I 
haven't  seen  it  myself.  The  Queen's  idea  is  to 
make  use  of  it  to  light  the  island." 

Donovan  took  up  the  glasses  when  Gorman  laid 
them  down.  He  watched  the  steamer. 

"The  King  is  wasting  no  time,"  he  said.  "He's 
coming  ashore  right  now.  They're  lowering  a  boat. 
I  wonder  what  brings  him  here." 

"He's  probably  come  to  persuade  you  to  give  the 
island  back  to  him,  re-sell  it." 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  233 

"That  deal,"  said  Donovan,  "is  closed.  I'll  be 
obliged  to  you,  Gorman,  if  you'll  make  that  plain 
to  him." 

"I  expect  the  Emperor  has  sent  him." 

"I'd  expect  some  pretty  lively  bidding,"  said 
Donovan,  "with  the  Emperor  and  a  king  in  the 
ring,  if  the  island  was  up  for  auction.  But  it's  not. 
I'm  not  going  back  on  my  bargain.  I'm  very  well 
satisfied  with  Salissa  as  a  place  of  residence.  I  feel 
I  might  live  a  long  time  on  Salissa.  Come  to  think 
of  it,  there's  no  reason  why  any  one  should  ever  die 
here.  It's  worry  and  annoyance  preying  on  the 
human  heart,  which  kill  men." 

A  boat  put  off  from  the  steamer's  side  as  Donovan 
spoke.  It  rowed  towards  the  palace  steps.  King 
Konrad  Karl  sat  in  the  stern 

"Gorman,"  said  Donovan,  "it  will  prolong  my 
days  if  you  go  down  and  meet  that  king.  Make  it 
plain  to  him  that  it's  no  kind  of  use  his  trying  to 
talk  me  round,  because  I'm  not  going  to  listen  to 
him.  He's  welcome  to  stay  in  the  palace  as  long 
as  he  likes.  But  he's  not  to  worry  me.  If  he  seems 
any  way  determined  on  talking  business,  you  quote 
the  certificate  of  that  doc." 


CHAPTER  XX 

KING  KONRAD  KARL  took  Gorman's  hand 
and  wrung  it  heartily. 

"My  friend  Gorman,"  he  said.  "How  are  you? 
But  I  need  not  ask.  I  see.  You  are  top-tipping." 

"Thanks,"  said  Gorman.  "Salissa  agrees  with 
me.  And  Paris  does  not  seem  to  have  done  you 
any  harm." 

"Paris !  Ah,  in  Paris  one  lives,  and  I  am  in  the 
pink.  But,  alas  and  damn,  I  leave  Paris.  I  take 
trains.  I  travel  fast.  I  embark."  He  waved  his 
hand  towards  the  steamer.  "Finally,  I  arrive." 

"How  did  you  come  to  embark  in  that  curious- 
looking  ship?  I  never  saw  a  steamer  like  her 
before." 

"That,"  said  the  King,  "is  the  navy  of  Megalia. 
I  come  as  a  King,  in  a  state." 

"I  rather  wonder  that  you  trusted  yourself  to 
that  navy,"  said  Gorman.  "After  what  you  told 
me  about  the  fate  of  the  late  king.  It  was  that 
same  steamer,  I  suppose,  which  brought  the  Prime 
Minister  and  the  rest  of  them  out  here  to  cut  your 
predecessor's  throat." 

"Otto?  Yes.  It  was  the  navy.  You  are  right. 
They  killed  poor  Otto.  No  doubt  they  would  jump 
up  to  the  chance  to  kill  me  too.  But  just  now 
234 


THE"  ISLAND  MYSTERY  235 

they  cannot,  and  I  am  safe  as  a  bank  in  England. 
The  Emperor " 

"Ah,"  said  Gorman,  "I  thought  we'd  get  to  the 
Emperor  soon." 

"The  Emperor  said,  'Carry  the  King  to  Salissa 
in  the  navy  of  Megalia.'  That  is  all,  but  that  is 
enough.  No,  my  friend,  they  will  not  kill  me  now. 
Afterwards  perhaps.  But  afterwards  I  shall  not  be 
here.  I  shall  return  to  Paris." 

"I  wonder  you  ever  left  Paris,"  said  Gorman, 
"but  I  suppose  that  was  the  Emperor  too." 

"You  are  right.  You  hit  it  the  first  time  you 
shoot.  The  Emperor  sends  to  me  Steinwitz — a 
cursed  pig — a  cur  dog  with  mange  on  him — an 
outsider  from  the  ranks,  that  is,  I  think  you  say  a 
rank  outsider — a  bounder,  my  friend  Gorman — a 
sweeper  of  chimneys — a  swine " 

"I'm  sure  he's  all  that.  I  don't  care  for  the  man 
myself,  but  tell  me  what  he  said  to  you." 

"Steinwitz  came  into  my  hotel.  He  said,  'The 
American  will  not  sell  Salissa.  It  is  necessary  that 
you  marry  the  girl.'  I  said  'Good.  Where  is  she? 
To-morrow  I  will  do  it.'  But  he  said,  'The  girl  is 
not  here.  It  is  for  you  to  go  to  Salissa  at  once. 
She  is  there.'  Conceive  it,  my  friend.  I  did  not 
want  to  leave  Paris.  We  were  happy  there,  Corinne 
and  I.  But  at  once,  in  a  jiffy,  I  am  off  to  this 
place  and  without  Corinne.  It  is  a  hard  line,  for  me 
the  hardest  line." 

"But  why  the  deuce  did  you  dc  it  ?  Oh,  I  needn't 
ask  that.  The  Emperor,  of  course.  Well,  I  don't 


236  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

know  whether  you'll  be  pleased  to  hear  it  or  not, 
but  you  can't  marry  the  girl." 

"But — you  do  not  quite  understand.  For  me 
there  is  no  choice.  It  is:  Damn  it,  I  must.  The 
Emperor " 

"Even  the  Emperor  can't  make  the  same  girl 
marry  two  men.  I  happen  to  know  that  Miss  Dono- 
van is  engaged  to  a  young  fellow  called  Phillips, 
and  fifty  Emperors  yelling  at  her  at  once  wouldn't 
make  her  give  him  up." 

The  King  seized  Gorman's  hand  and  shook  it 
heartily.  His  face  expressed  great  delight. 

"Where,"  he  said,  "is  the  young  fellow  called 
Phillips?  I  wish  to  see  him  at  once,  to  embrace 
him.  I  shall  bestow  on  him  the  Order  of  the  Pink 
Vulture  of  Megalia,  First  Class.  I  shall  make  him  a 
Count.  'Do  you  think,  my  friend,  that  he  would 
wish  tc  be  a  Count?  His  action  is  most  noble. 
He  is  a  good  sporter.  I  will  now  go  back  to  Paris. 
The  Emperor  can  say  no  more  to  me.  The  young 
fellow  Phillips  has  married  the  girl." 

"Not  quite  married  her,"  said  Gorman,  "but  it's 
nearly  the  same  thing." 

The  King  waved  his  hand  airily. 

"It  is  quite  the  same  thing.  No  man  of  honour — 
the  young  fellow  Phillips  is  above  all  a  man  of 
honour — would  go  backwards  from  his  word.  Be- 
sides there  is  your  English  court  of  broken  promises 
of  marriage.  He  would  not  face  that.  I  write 
at  once  to  the  Emperor.  I  tell  him  that  I  regret, 
that  I  am  desolate,  but  I  can  do  no  more.  The 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  237 

young"  fellow  Phillips  has  cut  me  up — no,  has  cut 
out — that  is,  he  has  cut  me  in.  Then  I  return 
to  Paris.  To-day  I  shall  start.  The  navy  of 
Megalia  will  get  up  steam  and " 

The  King  stopped  abruptly.  The  smile  died  on 
his  face.  He  had  all  the  appearance  of  extreme 
dejection. 

"My  friend,"  he  said,  "it  will  not  work.  I  forgot 
one  thing.  I  am  up  in  a  tree.  What  am  I  to  do  ?" 

"What's  the  matter?"  said  Gorman.  "You  were 
just  saying  you'd  go  back  to  Paris.  That  strikes 
me  as  an  excellent  plan.  What's  the  matter  with 
it?" 

"I  had  forgotten  one  thing,"  said  the  King.  "If 
I  cannot  marry  the  girl,  I  am  no  longer  any  use. 
The  Emperor  will  not  care  a  damn  what  happens  to 
me.  The  Admiral  of  Megalia  is  there,  Gorman,  on 
the  navy.  The  Emperor's  command  no  longer  pro- 
tects. The  admiral  will  say,  'Hell  and  Hurrah! 
Now  is  my  chance/  " 

"Do  you  mean  to  say  you  think  the  admiral  will 
assassinate  you?" 

"It  is  as  certain  as  two  and  two  and  four.  If  I 
return  to  my  navy  I  follow  poor  Otto  at  once.  The 
admiral  will  know  that  if  I  cannot  marry  the  girl 
the  Emperor  will  not  care  about  me.  Perhaps  it  is 
better  after  all  that  I  marry  her." 

"I've  told  you  already  that  you  can't." 

"Pooh!  You  are  thinking  of  the  young  fellow 
Phillips.  A  word  to  the  admiral  and  Phillips  will 
no  longer  blockade  the  way." 


238  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"Look  here,"  said  Gorman,  ''there's  no  use  talk- 
ing that  kind  of  nonsense.  Your  admiral  appears 
to  be  a  man  with  a  taste  for  murder,  but  he  can't 
be  allowed  to  run  amok  in  that  way.  And  Miss 
Donovan  would  not  marry  you  even  if  Phillips  was 
out  of  the  way.  Get  that  into  you  head  once  for 
all." 

"Great  Scott  and  damn!"  said  the  King.  "Do 
you  think  I  want  to  marry  her.  No,  my  friend, 
there  is  nothing  I  desire  less  except  to  follow  poor 
Otto.  I  do  not  want  to  marry  the  girl.  To  be 
married  to  her  would  make  me  bored,  but  it  would 
make  me  much  more  bored  to  die," 

"The  thing  for  you  to  do,"  said  Gorman,  "is 
to  stay  where  you  are.  Don't  go  on  board  your 
navy.  Donovan  has  asked  you  to  stay  at  the  palace. 
You'll  be  safe  here.  We  won't  even  ask  the  admiral 
to  dinner  if  you'd  rather  we  didn't." 

"It  will  be  dull,  dull  as  the  water  of  a  ditch,"  said 
the  King  mournfully. 

"You  needn't  stay  here  for  ever,"  said  Gorman. 
"There'll  be  an  English  ship  back  in  a  short  time 
and  you  can  go  home  in  her.  Madame  will  be 
waiting  for  you  all  right." 

"Poor  Corinne!"  said  the  King.  "I  left  her  in 
Paris.  Steinwitz  said  so,  and  he  spoke  for  the 
Emperor.  'You  go  to  marry,'  he  said,  'therefore 
Madame  must  stay.'  " 

"From  his  point  of  view  he  was  right  there,"  said 
Gorman,  "and  it's  just  as  well  that  Madame  did 
not  come  with  you.  Donovan  is  a  broad-minded 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  239 

man;  but  you  couldn't  expect  him  to  put  up  you 
and  Madame  in  the  palace.  It  would  be  trying 
him  rather  high." 

"Ah,"  said  the  King.  "Poor  Corinne!  She  will 
be  desolate." 

"Well,"  said  Gorman,  "you'd  better  come  along 
now  and  see  Donovan.  He  ought  ,to  be  down  here 
to  receive  you,  of  course.  But  these  Americans — 
I'm  sure  you'll  understand — they're  not  accustomed 
to  kings." 

"Say  no  more,"  said  the  King,  "not  a  word. 
I  go  to  pay  my  respects.  I  bow.  I  abase  myself. 
I  am  a  king.  It  is  true.  But  I  have  no  money, 
only  a  little,  a  very  little  left.  He  is  not  a  king, 
but  he  has  money.  Gorman,  I  am  not  a  Bourbon. 
I  am  able  to  learn  and  forget.  He  who  can  write 
a  cheque  is  a  greater  man  than  he  who  can  confer 
the  Order  of  the  Pink  Vulture  of  Megalia.  I  have 
learned  that.  Also  I  can  forget,  forget  that  I  am 
a  king." 

We  must  do  Konrad  Karl  justice.  No  king  was 
ever  more  willing  to  forget  his  rank  than  he  was. 
The  real  trouble  with  him  was  that  he  seldom 
remembered  it. 

"Come  along  then,"  said  Gorman,  "but  don't  get 
talking  business  to  Donovan." 

"Business !  Why  do  you  so  often  misunderstand 
me,  you  who  ought  to  know  me  well?  First  you 
think  that  I  desire  to  marry  that  girl — as  if  it  were 
possible  that  I  should.  Then  you  fear  that  I  will 


24o  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

talk  business.  Am  I  one  that  talks  business  ever, 
to  any  one,  if  I  can  help  it?" 

"I  mean,"  said  Gorman,  "don't  say  anything 
about  buying  the  island  or  marrying  the  girl.  Dono- 
van's heart  is  dicky,  or  he  thinks  it  is,  which  comes 
to  the  same  thing — and  any  sort  of  worry  upsets 
him." 

"I  see  it,"  said  the  King.  "I  understand.  Trust 
me.  Mumm  will  be  the  word.  Mumm  extra  sec. 
Mumm  at  190  shillings  a  dozen.  You  can  trust  me." 

King  Konrad  Karl  made  himself  most  agreeable 
to  Donovan.  He  did  not  once  mention  the  sale  of 
the  island  or  hint  at  a  marriage  with  the  Queen. 
He  talked  about  the  scenery.  He  discussed  the 
character,  manners  and  customs  of  the  inhabitants. 
He  inquired  whether  Donovan  were  satisfied  with 
the  palace,  admitted  frankly  that  the  accommoda- 
tion was  not  all  that  could  be  desired.  In  just  such 
a  way  an  English  gentleman  might  converse  with 
a  satisfactory  tenant  to  whom  he  had  let  his  country 
house  for  the  hunting  season.  Donovan  repeated 
the  invitation  which  Gorman  had  given  in  his  name, 
and  pressed  the  King  to  treat  the  palace  as  his  own 
during  his  stay  in  Salissa.  The  King  accepted  the 
invitation  with  profuse  thanks.  Donovan  rang  a 
bell  which  lay  on  the  table  beside  him. 

"I'll  tell  Smith,"  he  said,  "to  get  your  luggage 
ashore  right  now  and  fix  up  a  room  for  you." 

I  have  always  admired  Smith.  He  is  not  only 
competent  in  practical  affairs.  He  has  nerve  and 
coolness  of  a  very  high  order.  He  found  himself  in 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  241 

a  difficult  position  when  Donovan's  bell  sounded. 
He  knew  that  the  King  had  landed,  knew  that  he 
was  with  Donovan  and  Gorman  on  the  balcony. 
In  Smith's  position  I  think  I  should  have  sent  some 
one  else  to  take  Donovan's  orders,  one  of  the  island 
girls,  or  one  of  the  boys  who  were  by  that  time 
presentable  footmen.  I  should,  I  feel  sure,  have 
concealed  myself,  feigned  sickness,  made  any  ex- 
cuse, rather  than  face  the  King  in  the  presence  of 
Donovan  and  Gorman.  But  Smith  is  greatly  my 
superior.  .  He  appeared  at  once  in  answer  to  the 
summons  of  the  bell.  He  stool  half-way  between 
Donovan's  chair  and  the  door  which  opened  on  the 
balcony.  He  did  not  even  glance  at  the  King. 
But  the  King  recognized  him  at  once. 

"Ah,"  he  said.  "It  is,  yes.  Hell's  delight!  It 
is  the  excellent  Fritz.  It  is  so  long  since  I  have 
seen  you,  Fritz,  I  began  to  think  you  were  dead." 

"No,  your  Majesty,  not  yet,"  said  Smith.  "I 
hope  your  Majesty  is  quite  well,  and  Mr.  Stein witz, 
if  you'll  excuse  my  asking.  I  hope  Mr.  Steinwitz  is 
quite  well." 

"That  swine,"  said  the  King,  "is,  as  always,  swal- 
lowing in  the  mire." 

"You'll  excuse  my  asking,  your  Majesty,"  said 
Smith,  "but  I  like  to  hear  about  Mr.  Steinwitz.  It 
was  Mr.  Steinwitz  who  got  me  my  present  situation 
— a  very  good  situation,  your  Majesty." 

"Smith,"  said  Donovan,  "get  the  King's  luggage 
ashore.  He's  going  to  stay  here  fcr  a  bit.  You 
must  make  him  as  comfortable  as  you  can." 


242  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Smith.  "I'll  see  to  that,  sir,  at 
once.  Anything  else,  sir?" 

"Not  now,"  said  Donovan. 

"Thank  you,  sir,"  said  Smith. 

Then  he  left  the  balcony.  Many  men,  perhaps 
most  men,  would  not  have  gone  far  away,  would 
have  lingered  near  one  of  the  open  windows  which 
gave  on  the  balcony,  nervously  anxious  to  hear 
what  was  said  about  them.  Smith  was  not  in  the 
least  nervous.  He  went  straight  to  the  landing  steps 
and  was  to  be  seen  a  few  moments  later  rowing 
out  to  the  steamer.  He  probably  guessed  pretty 
accurately  what  questions  Donovan  and  Gorman 
would  ask.  He  must  have  known  what  King  Kon- 
rad  Karl  would  tell  them.  He  would  discover  in 
due  time  what  they  decided  to  do.  There  was  no 
real  need  for  eavesdropping.  Yet  I  think  most  men 
would  have  tried  to  listen. 

"Seems  to  me,"  said  Donovan  to  the  King,  "that 
you're  acquainted  with  Smith.  I'm  not  asking 
questions.  It's  no  affair  of  mine,  anyway.  Don't 
say  a  word  unless  you  like.  I'm  not  curious." 

"I  am,"  sair  Gorman,  "infernally  curious.  Who 
is  Smith?" 

"For  five  years,"  said  the  King,  "perhaps  for 
more — who  knows — he  has  walked  on  my  shadow. 
He  has  been  a  beagle  hound,  nose  down,  on  my 
smell,  pursuing  it.  Never  until  last  April  has  he 
run  off  the  tracks." 

"Blackmail  ?"  said  Donovan. 

The  King  looked  puzzled,  though  "blackmail"  is 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  243 

a  word  he  might  have  been  expected  to  know.  Gor- 
man explained. 

"Getting  money  out  of  you,"  he  said,  "for  hush- 
ing up  any  inconvenient  little  episodes,  undertaking 
not  to  tell  stories  he  happened  to  have  heard.  You 
know  the  sort  of  thing  I  mean." 

"No  man,"  said  the  King  sadly,  "can  get  money 
out  of  me.  It  is  like — how  do  you  say  ? — the  riding 
breeches  of  the  Scottish  soldiers,  not  there.  Nor 
do  I  say  hush  about  my  little  episodes.  Pooh !  my 
friend  Gorman.  These  episodes,  what  are  they? 
The  English  middling  classes  like  to  pretend  that 
there  are  no  episodes.  But  there  are,  always,  and 
we  others — we  do  not  say  hush." 

"If  it  wasn't  blackmail,"  said  Donovan,  "what 
kept  him  tracking  you?" 

"Ask  my  friend  Gorman,"  said  the  King.  "He 
knows." 

"I  do  not,"  said  Gorman,  "unless " 

King  Konrad  Karl  smiled  pleasantly. 

"Unless "  said  Gorman.  "Oh,  damn  it  all. 

I  suppose  it  was  the  Emperor." 

"You  have  it,"  said  the  King.  "He  is  of  the 
Emperor's  secret  service.  He  and  Steinwitz.  Stein- 
witz  I  do  not  like.  He  is  an  arrogant.  He  assumes 
always  the  attitude  of  the  dog  on  top.  But  of 
Fritz  I  make  no  complaint.  He  is  always  civilian." 

"I'd  gather  that,"  said  Gorman,  "from  the  little 
I've  seen  of  him.  If  we  must  have  a  spy  here — 
and  of  course  there's  no  help  for  that  since  the 
Emperor  says  so — it's  better  to  have  an  agreeable 


244  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

one.  His  job  at  present,  I  suppose,  is  to  keep  an 
eye  on  Donovan  and  the  island  generally." 

"That  Emperor,"  said  Donovan,  "seems  to  me 
to  butt  in  unnecessarily.  But  I'm  obliged  to  him. 
Smith  is  the  best  servant  I've  struck  since  I  first 
took  to  employing  a  hired  help." 

"It  will  be  sad,"  said  the  King,  "when  you  kill 
him.  A  great  loss." 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Donovan,  "that  I  mean  to 
kill  him.  He's  a  valuable  man." 

"The  proper  thing  to  do,"  said  Gorman,  "is  to 
put  him  on  board  the  Megalian  navy  and  leave  him 
to  the  admiral." 

"Seems  a  pity,"  said  Donovan.  "I  don't  see  how 
I  could  make  my  way  along  the  rugged  path  of 
life  without  Smith.  He  hasn't  done  me  any  kind 
of  harm  so  far.  I  think  I'll  wait  a  bit.  It  would 
worry  me  to  have  to  step  down  and  take  hold  now. 
My  heart " 

"What  I  can't  get  at  even  yet,"  said  Gorman, 
"is  the  idea  in  the  Emperor's  mind.  He  piles  up 
scrap  iron  and  ridiculous-looking  cisterns  in  a  cave. 
He  deluges  the  place  with  petrol.  He  sets  a  spy 
on  Donovan.  Now  what  the  devil  does  he  do  it 
for?" 

The  King  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"Real  Politik,  perhaps,"  he  said.  "But  how  do 
I  know?  I  am  a  king,  certainly.  But  I  am  not  a 
whale  on  the  sea  of  Real  Politik.  Your  whale  is  a 
fish  that  bores,  always.  Perhaps  if  you  ask  Fritz 
he  will  know."  - 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  245 

"By  the  way,"  said  Donovan,  "what's  the  man's 
real  name?" 

"Once,"  said  the  King,  "he  was  Calmet,  M.  de 
Calmet.  At  that  time  he  was  French.  Later  he  was 
Heyduk,  a  Captain  in  the  army  of  Megalia.  Also 
he  was  Freidwig,  and  he  came  from  Stockholm. 
He  was  for  some  time  the  Count  Pozzaro.  I  have 
also  heard " 

"That's  enough  for  me,"  said  Donovan.  "I'll 
stick  to  Smith  as  long  as  he'll  answer  to  it.  Seems 
simpler." 

Gorman  rose  from  his  chair  and  crossed  the  bal- 
cony. He  stood  for  a  minute  or  two  looking  out 
at  the  bay.  Smith's  boat,  rowed  steadily,  reached 
the  side  of  the  steamer.  Smith  climbed  on  board. 

"I  shouldn't  wonder,"  said  Gorman,  "if  we've 
seen  the  last  of  our  friend  Smith." 

"I  hope  not,"  said  Donovan.  "Why  do  you  think 
so?" 

"Well,"  said  Gorman,  "if  I  were  in  his  shoes  I 
think  I  should  stay  on  the  Megalian  navy.  It'll  be 
rather  awkward  for  him  now  we've  found  him  out." 

"He  will  return,"  said  the  King. 

"I  shouldn't,"  said  Gorman.  "Of  course  that 
admiral,  being  the  kind  of  man  he  is,  it's  risky  to 
stay  with  him ;  but  then  Smith  has  got  to  take 
risks  whatever  he  does.  And  he  may  have  some 
sort  of  safe  conduct  from  the  Emperor  which  will 
make  the  admiral  nervous  about  cutting  his  throat." 

"He  will  return,"  said  the  King.    "It  is  plain  that 


246  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

the  Emperor  has  said  to  him :  'Follow  the  smell 
of  the  American.'  He  will  not  leave  it." 

"Oh,  of  course,"  said  Gorman.  "I'm  always  for- 
getting the  Emperor.  If  he  has  given  definite  orders 
of  that  kind  they'll  be  obeyed.  I  daresay  Smith  is 
telegraphing  for  definite  instructions  at  this  mo- 
ment. They  have  a  wireless  installation,  so  I  sup- 
pose he  can." 

"Behold,"  said  the  King.  "My  luggage  descends 
to  the  boat.  Smith  will  follow.  Did  I  not  tell  you?" 

Two  sailors  were  lowering  various  suit-cases  and 
bags  into  the  boat.  A  few  minutes  later  Smith 
dropped  from  the  steamer's  side  and  took  the  oars. 

"Donovan,"  said  Gorman,  "the  Emperor  is  evi- 
dently really  anxious  about  your  smell." 


CHAPTER  XXI 

T  DO  not  think  that  the  Emperor's  plan  for  re- 
•••  storing  Salissa  to  the  Crown  of  Megalia  by 
means  of  a  marriage  would  have  worked,  even  if 
there  had  been  no  such  person  as  Maurice  Phillips. 
The  Queen  did  not  like  Konrad  Karl.  She  was  not, 
of  course,  openly  disagreeable  or  uncivil  to  him. 
She  was  too  sweet-tempered  and  good-hearted  to  be 
disagreeable  to  any  one,  and  she  had  a  strong  sense 
of  what  was  due  to  a  guest  in  her  house.  But  it  was 
plain  enough  not  only  to  Gorman,  but  to  the  King 
himself,  that  she  did  not  like  him.  This  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  the  King's  fault.  Konrad  Karl 
had  many  of  the  instincts  of  a  gentleman.  It  is 
an  odd  fact,  but  I  think  undeniable,  that  a  man  may 
be  a  blackguard  and  remain  a  gentleman.  There 
was,  for  instance,  no  fault  to  be  found  with  Konrad 
Karl's  behaviour  towards  the  Queen,  though  he  had 
come  to  the  island  intending  to  insult  her  by  marry- 
ing her.  He  did  his  best  to  talk  pleasantly  to  her, 
and  he  could  be  very  pleasant  when  he  chose.  He 
never  attempted  to  flirt  with  her.  His  manner  was 
always  respectful  and  he  tried  to  help  her  in  various 
ways,  even  going  to  her  school  in  the  mornings  and 
giving  the  children  drawing  lessons.  She  could  not 
*47 


248  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

herself  have  told  why  she  disliked  him.  She  cer- 
tainly had  no  idea  that  there  was  any  question  of 
his  marrying  her.  But  she  slipped  into  the  habit 
of  spending  most  of  her  time  in  the  boat  with  Kalli- 
ope.  Konrad  Karl  used  to  go  down  to  the  palace 
steps  and  see  her  off.  He  never  ventured  into  a 
boat  himself.  He  had  an  uneasy  feeling  that  the 
Megalian  admiral  was  watching  him  and  would 
kidnap  him  at  once  if  he  left  the  security  of  the 
land. 

The  Queen's  unfriendliness  did  not  trouble  him 
much. 

"The  American  girl,"  he  said  to  Gorman,  "would 
not  have  done  for  me,  or  do  I  say  she  would  have 
done  for  me?  Which  is  it?" 

"Well,"  said  Gorman,  "either  expresses  your 
meaning  and  I  quite  agree  with  you.  She  would 
not  have  done  for  you,  and  in  the  long  run  if  you 
didn't  do  for  her  she  would  certainly  have  done  for 
you." 

"The  English  language  is  wonderful,"  said  the 
King.  "She  would  not,  and  she  would.  It  is  the 
same  in  English.  But  my  meaning  is  true.  It  is 
well  I  did  not  marry  her.  I  must  give  many  thanks 
to  Phillips.  If  Phillips  had  not  done  for  her  I 
should  have  been  done  for." 

"As  it  is,"  said  Gorman,  "it's  the  Emperor  who's 
done." 

"Ah,"  said  the  King.  "I  give  in.  I  give  up.  I 
give  out.  That  word  'done' — it  is  too  much  for 
me." 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  249 

It  was  not  like  the  King  to  give  in  to  an  English 
idiom.  As  a  rule  he  rushed  at  one  the  minute  he 
heard  it  with  reckless  confidence.  But  he  was  de- 
pressed and  lonely  on  Salissa.  He  chatted  cheerily 
enough  to  Donovan.  He  was  always  bright  and 
talkative  at  meals.  But  he  confessed  to  Gorman 
several  times  that  he  missed  Madame  Ypsilante  very 
much. 

It  was  Gorman's  curious  fortune  at  this  time  to 
receive  the  love  confidences  of  three  different  people. 
Phillips  had  poured  raptures  into  his  ear  during  the 
voyage  to  the  island.  The  Queen,  having  no  one 
else  to  treat  as  a  confidant,  often  talked  to  him 
about  Phillips.  The  King  was  expansive  about 
Madame  Ypsilante.  One  evening  he  became  very 
sentimental,  almost  lachrymose.  He  and  Gorman 
were  sitting  together  near  the  flagstaff,  smoking 
and  looking  out  towards  the  harbour  where  the 
Megalian  navy  still  lay  at  anchor. 

"Ah,"  said  the  King,  "my  poor  Corinne!  She 
will  languish.  I  think  of  Corinne  and  I  see  that  her 
eyes  are  full  of  mourning,  like  the  eyes  of  a  wood 
dove.  Gorman,  I  cannot  bear  the  weight.  It  will 
be  better  that  I  take  the  risk,  that  I  go  on  the  navy. 
The  admiral  will  make  me  walk  a  plank.  That  is 
certain.  But  it  might  be  that  I  should  survive.  And 
then  I  should  rejoin  Corinne,  poor  Corinne  who 
mourns." 

"I  don't  expect  she's  mourning  as  much  as  all 
that,"  said  Gorman.  "She's  got  those  pearls,  you 
know." 


250  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"I,"  said  the  King,  "I  alone  am  her  pearl.  But, 
alas,  I  cannot  even  write  to  her.  She  will  think 
that  I  am  dead  and  her  heart  will  fall  to  pieces." 

"She's  much  more  likely  to  think  that  you've 
married  Miss  Donovan,"  said  Gorman. 

"Of  course  she  will  think  that.  It  was  what  I 
came  to  do.  That  she  will  not  mind.  But  if  she 
thinks  that  I  am  dead,  that  the  admiral  has  cooked 
a  goose  for  me;  then  she  will  indeed  be  sad.  Gor- 
man, my  friend,  what  shall  I  do  to  reassure  her?" 

"I  can't  possibly  advise  you,"  said  Gorman.  "I 
don't  understand  women.  I  should  have  thought 
she'd  much  rather  you  were  dead  than  married  to 
Miss  Donovan." 

"Ah  no,"  said  the  King.  "Believe  me,  my  friend, 
you  know  much ;  but  you  do  not  know  the  heart  of 
Corinne." 

The  King's  faith  was  very  touching.  But  Gorman 
still  maintains  that  he  was  not  far  wrong  about 
Madame  Ypsilante's  feelings.  She  might  not  actu- 
ally have  preferred  the  King's  death;  but  she  cer- 
tainly did  not  want  to  see  him  married  to  Miss 
Donovan. 

The  King  drew  a  last  mouthful  of  smoke  from  his 
cigar  and  then  flung  the  end  of  it  into  the  sea. 

"Gorman,"  he  said,  "what  is  it  that  your  great 
English  poet  had  so  beautifully  said?  'If  you  were 
the  only  girl  in  the  world  and  I  were  the  only  boy.' 
That  is  Corinne  and  me.  'A  garden  of  Eden  just 
made  for  two.'  That  is  Paris.  I  have  always  ad- 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  251 

mired  the  English  poets.  It  is  so  true,  what  they 
say." 

He  gazed  out  across  the  bay  as  he  spoke.  The 
sun  was  setting.  The  water  was  exquisitely  calm. 
It  was  a  moment  for  the  most  luscious  sentiment. 
Even  Gorman,  to  whom  sentiment  is  an  abhorrent 
kind  of  indecency,  felt  uncomfortable. 

A  small  boat  slipped  round  the  southern  head- 
land of  the  bay.  She  was  rowing  fast.  The  King 
jumped  to  his  feet  suddenly.  He  pointed  to  the 
boat.  He  waved  his  arms  wildly. 

"Buck  up,"  he  shouted,  "it  is — I  will  eat  my 
hat — it  is  Corinne !  She  comes  to  me !" 

"Nonsense,"  said  Gorman.  "That's  Miss  Dono- 
van's boat.  She's  coming  home  for  dinner.  Sit 
down  and  don't  get  excited." 

"I  am  sorry,"  said  the  King,  "but  I  cannot.  It 
is  impossible  for  me  to  keep  on  my  hair  when 
Corinne  is  coming." 

"Corinne  isn't  coming,"  said  Gorman.  "How 
could  she?" 

"I  see  her.  I  see  her.  The  dickens,  and  Great 
Jupiter,  my  eyes  see  her." 

"You  can't  tell  one  woman  from  another  at  that 
distance.  What  you  see  is  either  Miss  Donovan  or 
Kalliope." 

The  boat  drew  rapidly  nearer.  Gorman  stared 
at  her. 

"There  are  three  women,"  he  said.  "I  wonder 
who  the  other  is." 

"Corinne.    Corinne,"  said  the  King. 


252  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

To  Gorman's  amazement  the  King  was  right. 
The  boat  reached  the  landing  steps.  In  her  were 
the  Queen,  Kalliope  and  a  very  dishevelled  Madame 
Ypsilante.  That  lady  was  never,  at  any  time  of 
her  life,  an  outdoor  woman.  When  she  travelled 
it  was  in  the  wagons-lits  of  trains-de-luxes,  and  in 
specially  reserved  cabins  of  steamers.  Her  journey 
to  Salissa  had  been  performed  in  far  less  luxurious 
ways  and  her  appearance  had  suffered.  Her  com- 
plexion was  streaky.  Her  hair  straggled  about  a 
good  deal,  and  several  damp-looking  locks  hung  like 
thick  bootlaces  around  her  face.  Her  dress  was 
crumpled  and  had  two  large  patches  of  dirt  on 
it.  But  all  this  made  no  difference  to  the  King. 
He  folded  her  in  his  arms  and  kissed  her  directly 
she  got  out  of  the  boat. 

"Corinne,"  he  said,  "now  I  shall  be  no  longer 
sad." 

Madame  returned  his  kisses  with  vigour. 

"My  Konrad,"  she  said,  "and  you  are  not  mar- 
ried after  all." 

It  was  that  remark,  her  greeting  to  the  King, 
which  made  Gorman  feel  sure  that  he  had  been 
right  about  her  feeling,  that  she  really  did  not  like 
the  idea  of  the  marriage. 

Konrad  Karl  took  her  by  the  hand  and  led  her 
into  the  palace. 

The  Queen  was  still  sitting  in  the  stern  of  the 
boat.  Since  Madame  Ypsilante  fell  into  Konrad 
Karl's  arms  the  Queen  had  turned  her  back  on  the 
landing  slip  and  gazed  steadily  out  to  sea.  Only 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  253 

when  the  sound  of  their  footsteps  made  her  sure 
that  her  guests  were  going  into  the  palace  did  she 
venture  to  look  round  cautiously. 

"It's  all  right,"  said  Gorman.  "You  can  come  on 
shore." 

He  held  out  his  hand  to  her. 

"And  do  tell  me,"  he  said,  "where  you  found 
her.  She  looked  to  me  rather  as  if  she  had  been 
washed  up  some  time  yesterday  and  had  spent  last 
night  in  a  cave." 

"Who  is  she  ?"  said  the  Queen. 

"Her  name,"  said  Gorman,  "is  Ypsilante, 
Madame  Corinne  Ypsilante." 

"She  told  me  that  much.  But  I  want  to  know 
what  is  she?" 

The  question  was  an  awkward  one  to  answer. 
Gorman  did  the  best  he  could. 

"A  friend  of  the  King's,"  he  said. 

"Well,"  said  the  Queen.  "He'll  be  able  to  marry 
her  now.  The  poor  thing  was  in  dreadful  distress. 
She  thought  he  was  going  to  marry  me.  And 
she's  engaged  to  him.  She  told  me  so  herself." 

I  am  sure  that  Gorman  did  not  smile;  but  there 
must  have  been  a  twinkle  in  his  eyes  which  betrayed 
him.  The  Queen  is  extremely  quick  at  reading 
such  signs.  She  turned  on  him  sharply. 

"Aren't  they  engaged  to  be  married?"  she  asked. 

"Kings,"  said  Gorman,  "are  in  a  peculiar  position 
with  regard  to  these  matters.  Their  matrimonial 
arrangements  are  not  made  in  what  we  regard  as 


254  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

the  normal  way.  To  speak  of  a  king  as  being 
'engaged'  is " 

"I'm  a  queen." 

"Of  course.    Of  course." 

"And  I'm  engaged  to  be  married;  so  why  can't 
he  be?  Anyhow  he  is,  for  she  told  me  so.  I  asked 
her  and  she  said  yes !" 

Gorman  did  not  feel  equal  to  arguing  about  the 
precise  nature  of  Madame  Ypsilante's  claims  on  the 
King. 

"You  haven't  told  me  yet  where  you  found  her," 
he  said. 

"Kalliope  and  I,"  said  the  Queen,  "were  picnick- 
ing in  a  little  bay  a  long  way  from  this,  quite  the 
other  side  of  the  island.  There  was  a  fishing  boat 
standing  in  towards  the  shore.  It  came  to  our 
beach  and  she  got  out.  That's  all." 

"Quite  simple  after  all,"  said  Gorman.  "I  sup- 
pose you  were  scarcely  even  surprised." 

"Well,  I  was  rather,"  said  the  Queen,  "just  at 
first  until  she  told  me." 

"Told  you  what?"  said  Gorman.  "You're  skip- 
ping all  the  interesting  part." 

"Don't  be  stupid,"  said  the  Queen.  "She  told  me 
about  being  engaged  to  the  King  and  thinking  that 
he  was  going  to  marry  me.  Of  course,  when  she 
thought  that  she  came  here  as  quick  as  ever  she 
could  to  see  him.  Any  one  would.  Not  that  I'd 
ever  think  such  a  thing  about  Maurice.  But  then 
he  wouldn't.  Still,  I  quite  understand  her  coming 
here  in  a  boat.  But  I  do  wonder  what  made  her 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  255 

think  he  was  going  to  marry  me.  He  never  even 
tried.  Who  could  have  told  her  such  a  thing?" 

"Probably  the  Emperor,"  said  Gorman. 

The  Queen  burst  out  laughing. 

"I  believe,"  she  said,  "that  if  the  house  fell  down 
and  Kalliope  eloped  with  Smith  and  father  took  to 
rowing  races  with  old  Stephanos  you'd  put  it  all 
down  to  the  Emperor." 

"I  would,"  said  Gorman. 

"Anyhow,  I'm  going  to  dress  now.  Come  along, 
Kalliope." 

Madame  Ypsilante,  very  much  to  Gorman's  relief, 
did  not  appear  at  dinner.  She  went  straight  to  bed, 
intending,  so  the  King  said,  to  stay  there  for  twen- 
ty-four hours  at  least. 

Later  in  the  evening,  after  the  Queen  had  left 
them,  Konrad  Karl,  Donovan  and  Gorman  sat  to- 
gether smoking.  For  a  while  no  one  spoke.  At 
last  Konrad  Karl,  who  had  no  gift  of  silence,  began : 

"My  poor  Corinne!  She  was  desolate.  I  told 
you,  Gorman,  that  she  would  be  desolate,  but  you 
would  not  believe.  Yet  it  was  so.  Steinwitz  said, 
'No.  You  cannot  go  with  the  King.'  But  she  was 
more  than  too  much,  she  was  the  equal  of  Stein- 
witz. She  told  him  all  she  thought  of  him.  It  was 
much." 

"I  don't  like  Steinwitz,"  said  Gorman,  "but  what 
I  know  of  Madame's  conduct  in  moments  of  strong 
emotion  I'm  inclined  to  pity  the  man." 

"Then,"  said  the  King,  "she  was  like  a  bee,  mak- 
ing lines  for  Salissa." 


256  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"She  did  pretty  well,"  said  Gorman,  "consider- 
ing that  she  could  only  get  a  fishing  boat  for  the 
last  part  of  the  journey.  I  wonder  she  got  here 
so  soon.  But  look  here,  you  know — it  seems  a 
beastly  thing  to  say,  but " 

Here  Donovan  roused  himself. 

"I'm  not  a  narrow-minded  man,"  he  said,  "and 
I  hope  I'm  not  the  victim  of  prejudice;  but  I'm 
afraid " 

King  Konrad  Karl  waved  his  hand.  Then  he 
stood  up,  swallowed  half  a  glass  of  brandy  and  laid 
down  his  cigar. 

"I  am  Konrad  Karl  of  Megalia,"  he  said.  "I  am 
a  black  sheep,  very  black.  I  am  a  blackguard.  You 
say  it,  Donovan.  You  say  it,  Gorman,  my  friend." 

"I  didn't,"  said  Gorman. 

"Cut  that  part,"  said  Donovan.  "Nobody  wants 
to  start  in  abusing  you." 

"I  am,"  said  the  King  with  an  air  of  simple  pride, 
"I  am  a  blackguard,  the  blackest  guard  of  all.  Good. 
But  I  am  a  King  and  I  am  a  gentleman.  Good. 
I  know  that  poor  Corinne  must  go.  She  cannot 
stay  here.  That  is  what  you  would  say,  and  you 
are  right.  I  know  it.  There  are  les  convenances. 
There  is  the  charming  Miss  Donovan." 

"That's  it,"  said  Donovan.  "If  it  were  simply 

a  matter  of  Gorman  and  me I  don't  like  saying 

these  things — but " 

"But  you  are  right,"  said  the  King.  "Right  as 
nails.  Corinne  must  go.  But  I  go  with  her.  To- 
morrow we  depart,  she  and  I.  We  take  a  boat.  I 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  257 

row  with  oars.  We  fly.  The  navy  of  Megalia 
pursues.  It  overtakes.  Good.  We  die.  Perhaps  the 
navy  mistakes.  It  pursues  by  another  route,  a  way 
we  have  not  gone.  Good.  We  live.  Either  way  you 
shut  us.  No.  We  shut  you.  No.  I  have  it.  We 
are  shut  of  us." 

"That's  rather  a  hopeless  programme,"  said  Gor- 
man. "I  don't  suppose  you  can  row  much." 

"I  cannot  row  at  all,"  said  the  King. 

"The  navy  is  a  pretty  rotten-looking  tub,"  said 
Gorman.  "But  it  can  hardly  help  catching  you. 
You  won't  even  be  out  of  sight  before  it  has  steam 
up." 

The  King  sat  down,  looking  very  miserable.  He 
made  no  pretence  of  liking  the  prospect  before  him. 

"And  Corinne,"  he  murmured,  "will  be  sick,  as 
a  dog  is  sick.  She  is  sick  always  at  sea." 

Gorman  and  Donovan  felt  sorry  for  him.  Dono- 
van was  particularly  irritated  at  the  situation  in 
which  he  found  himself. 

"If  it  wasn't  for  my  daughter "  he  said. 

"But,  damn  it  all,  what  can  I  do?" 

"I  wonder,"  said  Gorman,  "if  it  would  be  possible 
to — well,  shall  we  say  regularize  the  situation?" 

He  looked  inquiringly  at  Donovan  and  then  at 
the  King.  Donovan  grasped  the  idea  first. 

"That's  it,"  he  said.  "Look  here,"  he  turned  to 
the  King.  "Why  the  hell  don't  you  marry  her  at 
once  ?  Then  everything  would  be  all  right." 

"Marry  her !"  said  the  King.    "But  that Oh, 


258  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

damn !  Oh  Great  Scott !  That  is  impossible.  You 
do  not  understand." 

"It's  the  right  thing  to  do,"  said  Donovan,  "be- 
sides being  the  only  possible  way  out  of  the  hole 
we  are  in.  And  I  don't  see  the  impossibility.  If 
you're  holding  back  on  account  of  any  mediaeval 
European  notions  about  monarchs  being  a  different 
kind  of  flesh  and  blood  from  other  people " 

"It  is  not  that,"  said  the  King. 

"If  it  is,"  said  Donovan,  "you  may  just  go  off 
in  a  boat  and  be  drowned.  I  shan't  pity  you." 

"But  it  is  not  that."  The  King  jumped  about 
with  excitement.  "I  am  a  king,  it  is  true.  But 
I  am  a  man  of  liberated  soul.  I  say  'Kings,  what 
are  kings?'  Democracy  is  the  card  to  play,  the 
trump.  I  play  it  now  and  always.  I  have  no 
prejudices.  But  when  you  say  to  me:  'There  is 
no  impossibility,  marry  Corinne,'  I  reply:  'You  do 
not  understand.  There  is  one  thing  more  to  reckon 
with.'  Donovan,  you  have  forgotten " 

"I  haven't  forgotten,"  said  Gorman.  "I  never 
get  a  chance  of  forgetting.  It's  the  Emperor,  as 
usual." 

"You  have  shot  the  bull  in  his  eye,"  said  the  King. 
"Donovan,  it  is  that.  Gorman  knows.  There  is 
the  Emperor.  Therefore  I  cannot  marry  Corinne." 

"I'd  see  that  Emperor  a  long  way,"  said  Donovan, 
"before  I'd  allow  him  to  dictate  to  me." 

"Ah,"  said  the  King,  "but  you  do  not  under- 
stand the  Emperor." 

"I  don't  believe  any  one  does,"  said  Gorman. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  259 

"Well,"  said  Donovan,  "I  do  not  understand 
your  Emperor.  I  own  up  to  that.  But  you  think 
over  my  suggestion,  and  you'll  find,  Emperor  or  no 
Emperor,  there  isn't  any  genuine  obstacle." 


CHAPTER   XXII 

KING  KONRAD  KARL  slept  badly  that  night. 
Donovan's  plan  seemed  to  him  quite  hopeless. 
He  went  to  bed  fully  persuaded  that  he  and  his  be- 
loved Corinne  would  have  to  embark  next  day  and 
make  a  considerable  voyage  in  an  open  boat.  I 
do  not  blame  him  for  being  disturbed  at  the  pros- 
pect. I  am  fond  of  boats  myself  and  can  enjoy 
a  ten-tonner  very  well;  but  nothing  would  induce 
me  to  go  to  sea  with  Madame  Ypsilante  in  anything 
less  comfortable  than  a  well-equipped  steam  yacht 
of  1,000  tons.  Besides  there  was  the  pursuit  of 
the  Megalian  navy  to  be  considered. 

The  King  was  not  the  only  person  who  missed  his 
proper  sleep.  Gorman  lay  awake  for  two  hours. 
He  was  tormented  by  the  feeling  that  it  was  barbar- 
ous to  turn  Konrad  Karl  and  Madame  Ypsilante 
adrift  in  a  boat.  Donovan  was  more  fortunate.  He 
slept  untroubled  by  any  worry  about  his  guests. 
It  seemed  to  him  the  simplest  thing  in  the  world  that 
the  King  should  marry  Madame  next  day.  Ste- 
phanos should  perform  the  ceremony.  Stephanos 
officiated  at  all  the  islanders'  marriages. 

There  was,  as  it  turned  out,  neither  a  flight  nor 
a  wedding  next  day.  Madame  Ypsilante  developed 
260 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  261 

a  feverish  chill.  She  was  plainly  quite  unfit  for  a 
boat  voyage  and  in  no  condition  to  be  married. 
The  Queen  and  Kalliope  took  up  the  work  of  nurs- 
ing her  with  enthusiasm.  The  Queen  would  not 
listen  to  a  word  Gorman  said  to  her.  Her  view 
was  that  Madame  Ypsilante  was  the  heroine  of  a 
splendid  romance,  that  she  had  fled  to  her  fiance 
across  land  and  sea,  braving  awful  dangers,  endur- 
ing incredible  hardships  for  dear  love's  sake.  She 
felt  that  she  would  have  done  the  same  thing  herself 
if  Phillips,  by  any  trick  of  fate,  had  been  marooned 
on  a  South  Pacific  island.  There  was  plainly  no 
use  trying  to  hint  at  delicate  proprieties  to  a  girl  in 
such  a  mood.  Gorman,  after  one  or  two  attempts, 
gave  it  up. 

He  had,  indeed,  quite  early  in  the  day,  other 
things  to  attend  to.  At  about  ten  o'clock  there 
were  signs  of  great  activity  on  board  the  Megalian 
navy.  The  crew — there  appeared  to  be  about  fif- 
teen men  altogether — was  paraded  on  deck  and 
addressed  from  the  bridge  by  the  admiral.  The 
speech  must  have  been  an  exciting  and  important 
one,  for  the  admiral  gesticulated  violently.  When 
he  stopped,  the  crew  cheered.  Gorman  watched  the 
proceedings.  He  was  interested — as  an  expert — 
in  the  effects  of  oratory. 

When  the  cheering  was  over,  the  admiral  gave 
two  or  three  orders.  The  crew  immediately  began 
to  run  about  the  deck  in  a  confused  and  tumultuous 
manner.  After  a  while  they  settled  down  to  the 
work  of  getting  the  covers  off  the  steamer's  two 


262  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

guns.  Some  shells — Gorman  supposed  they  must 
be  shells — were  carried  on  deck.  The  guns  were 
swung  round  and  pointed  at  the  palace.  Then  they 
were  loaded.  A  solemn  business,  very  carefully 
carried  out  under  the  immediate  eye  of  the  admiral. 

King  Konrad  Karl  came  running  to  Gorman.  He 
was  in  a  state  of  considerable  excitement. 

"That  admiral,"  he  said,  "has  it  in  mind  to  stone 
the  palace.  He  has  stones  for  those  guns.  I  know 

h." 

"If  it  was  a  matter  of  stones,"  said  Gorman,  "but 
they  look  to  me  more  like  shells." 

"Shells,  stones,  it  is  the  same.  He  will  batter, 
destroy,  slay.  Gorman,  my  friend,  it  must  not  be." 

"Why  the  devil  does  he  want  to  do  it?"  said 
Gorman.  "Now  don't  say  Real  Politik  or  the  Em- 
peror. I  simply  can't  believe  that  either  one  or 
the  other  would  set  that  pirate  shooting  at  us." 

"It  is  Real  Politik,  without  doubt,"  said  the  King. 
"And  it  is  the  Emperor.  But  it  is  also  me,  me,  Kon- 
rad Karl  of  Megalia.  I  am — what  is  it  you  say  in 
English? — I  am  wanted.  And  I  go.  I  offer  myself. 
I  become  a  ewe  lamb  of  sacrifice.  I  say  good-bye. 
I  leave  Corinne.  I  go.  Then  the  admiral  will  not 
stone  the  palace." 

"Don't  start  for  a  minute  or  two  yet,"  said  Gor- 
man. "The  pirate  is  sending  a  boat  ashore.  We 
may  as  well  hear  what  he  has  to  say." 

It  was  the  admiral  himself  who  landed.  He  was 
in  full  dress.  His  uniform  was  almost  entirely  cov- 
ered with  gold  braid.  Gold  cords  with  tassels  at 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  263 

their  ends  hung  in  festoons  across  his  chest  and 
down  his  back.  He  carried  a  large  sword  in  a 
highly  gilt  sheath.  On  his  head  was  a  cocked  hat 
with  a  tall  pink  feather  in  it,  perhaps  a  plume  from 
the  tail  of  the  Megalian  vulture. 

Gorman  received  him  with  great  respect  and  led 
him  up  to  Donovan's  room. 

The  admiral  saluted  Donovan  gravely,  and  held 
out  a  large  paper  carefully  folded  and  sealed.  Don- 
ovan offered  him  a  cigar  and  a  drink,  in  a  perfectly 
friendly  way.  The  admiral  replied  by  pushing  his 
paper  forward  towards  Donovan.  He  knew  no 
English.  That  was  the  only  possible  way  of  explain- 
ing the  fact  that  he  ignored  the  offer  of  a  drink. 
Donovan  nodded  towards  Gorman,  who  took  the 
document  from  the  admiral  and  opened  it. 

"Seems  to  me  to  be  a  kind  of  state  paper,"  he 
said.  "Rather  like  an  Act  of  Parliament  to  look 
at;  but  it's  written  in  a  language  I  don't  know. 
Suppose  we  send  for  the  King  and  get  him  to 
translate." 

"If  it's  an  Act  of  Parliament,"  said  Donovan, 
"we'd  better  have  Daisy  up  too.  She's  responsible 
for  the  government  of  this  island." 

The  admiral  guessed  that  his  document  was  under 
discussion.  He  did  not  know  English,  but  he  knew 
one  word  which  was,  at  that  time,  common  in  all 
languages. 

"Ultimatum,"  he  said  solemnly. 

"That  so?"  said  Donovan.  "Then  we  must  have 
Daisy." 


264  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

I  am  inclined  to  think  that  Miss  Donovan  will 
never  be  a  first-rate  queen.  She  is  constitutionally 
incapable  of  that  particular  kind  of  stupidity  which 
is  called  dignity.  In  that  hour  of  her  country's 
destiny,  her  chief  feeling  was  amusement  at  the 
appearance  of  the  admiral.  She  did  not  know,  per- 
haps, that  the  guns  of  the  Megalian  navy  were 
trained  on  her  palace.  But  she  ought  to  have  under- 
stood that  dignified  conduct  is  desirable  in  dealing 
with  admirals.  She  sat  on  the  corner  of  the  table 
beside  her  father's  chair  and  swung  her  legs.  She 
smiled  at  the  admiral.  Now  and  then  she  choked 
down  little  fits  of  laughter. 

King  Konrad  Karl  took  the  matter  much  more 
seriously. 

He  unfolded  the  paper  which  Gorman  handed  to 
him.  He  frowned  fiercely  and  then  became  sud- 
denly explosive. 

"Deuce  and  Jove  and  damn !"  he  said.  "This  is 
the  limitation  of  all.  Listen,  my  friends,  to  the 
cursed  jaw — no,  the  infernal  cheek,  of  this:  'The 
Megalian  Government  requires '  " 

He  stopped,  gasped,  struck  at  the  paper  with  his 
hand. 

"Go  on,"  said  Gorman.  "There's  nothing  very 
bad  so  far.  There  is  a  Megalian  Government,  I 
suppose?" 

"But  I — I  am  the  Megalian  Government,"  said 
the  King. 

"It  will  be  time  enough  to  take  up  those  points 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  265 

of  constitutional  law  afterwards.  Let's  hear  what's 
in  the  paper  first." 

The  King  read  on.  His  anger  gave  way  by  de- 
grees to  anxiety  and  perplexity. 

"I  cannot  translate,"  he  said.  "The  English  lan- 
guage does  not  contain  words  in  which  to  express 
the  damned  cheek  of  these  flounders.  They  say 
that  you,"  he  pointed  to  the  Queen,  "and  you, 
Donovan,  and  you,  my  friend  Gorman,  must  go  at 
once  on  the  Megalian  navy.  It  will  carry  you  to 
Sicily.  It  will  put  you  there  in  a  dump,  and  you 
must  embark  before  noon.  Great  Scott!" 

"Oh,  but  that's  just  silly,"  said  the  Queen.  "We 
shan't  take  any  notice  of  it." 

"In  that  case  the  admiral  shoots,"  said  the  King. 
"At  noon,  sharp  up  to  time,  precise." 

"Well,"  said  Donovan,  "I  guess  I  don't  mean  to 
move." 

"But,"  said  the  King,  "he  can  shoot.  The  navy 
of  Megalia  has  shells  for  its  guns.  It  has  six.  I 
know  it,  for  I  bought  them  myself  when  I  sat  on 
that  cursed  throne.  Six,  my  friends." 

"That's  a  comfort,  anyway,"  said  Donovan. 
"According  to  my  notion  of  the  efficiency  of  that 
navy  it  will  miss  the  island  altogether  with  the  first 
five  and  be  darned  lucky  if  it  knocks  a  chip  off  a 
cliff  with  the  sixth." 

The  Queen  stopped  swinging  her  feet  and  laugh- 
ing at  the  admiral.  She  was  much  more  serious 
now.  There  was  a  gleam  in  her  eyes  which  caught 
Gorman's  attention. 


266  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"Father,"  she  said,  "I'm  going  to  hoist  the  Amer- 
ican flag.  I  have  one  in  my  room." 

"Seems  a  pity,"  said  Donovan.  "Your  blue 
banner  is  nice  enough." 

"No  one,"  said  the  Queen,  "would  dare  to  fire 
on  the  Stars  and  Stripes." 

Miss  Donovan,  though  an  independent  queen,  was 
a  patriotic  American  citizen.  In  those  days  there 
were  a  good  many  patriotic  American  citizens  who 
believed  that  no  one  would  dare  to  fire  on  the  Stars 
and  Stripes.  King  Konrad  Karl  knew  better. 

"Alas,"  he  said,  "your  Stars!  your  Stripes!  if 
it  were  the  Megalian  Government  it  would  not  dare. 
But  this  is  not  the  ultimatum  outrage  of  the  Mega- 
lian Government.  Behind  it,  in  the  rear  of  its 
elbow,  stands " 

"Of  course  he  does,"  said  Gorman. 

"That  darned  Emperor?"  said  Donovan. 

Gorman  nodded. 

"Daisy,"  said  Donovan,  "I  just  hate  to  shatter 
your  ideals,  but  I  reckon  that  Emperor  would  as 
soon  fire  on  one  flag  as  another;  and  what's  more, 
I'm  not  inclined  to  think  that  Old  Glory  is  liable  to 
do  much  in  the  way  of  putting  up  a  battle  after- 
wards. It's  painful  to  you,  Daisy,  as  a  patriotic 
citizen;  but  what  I  say  is  the  fact.  In  the  Middle 
West  where  I  vas  raised  we  don't  think  guns  and 
shooting  constitute  the  proper  way  of  settling  inter- 
national differences.  We've  advanced  some  from 
those  ideas.  We're  a  civilized  people,  specially  in 
the  dry  States  where  university  education  is  rife 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  267 

and  the  influence  of  women  permeates  elections. 
We've  attained  a  nobler  outlook  upon  life." 

The  Queen  was  on  her  feet.  Her  eyes  were 
flashing.  Her  lips  trembled  with  indignation. 

"Father,"  she  said,  "are  you  going  to  let  your- 
self be  bullied  by — by  that  thing?"  She  pointed 
to  the  admiral  with  a  gesture  of  contempt.  "Are 
you  going  to  sneak  on  to  his  ship?  Oh,  if  I  were 
a  man  I'd  hoist  the  Stars  and  Stripes  and  fight.  If 
they  killed  us  America  would  avenge  us." 

"You  take  me  up  wrong,  Daisy,"  said  Donovan. 
"I  don't  say  I  wouldn't  fight  if  I  had  a  gun.  I 
might,  and  that's  a  fact.  But  the  way  I'm  fixed  at 
present,  not  having  a  gun,  I  intend  to  experiment 
with  the  methods  of  peaceful  settlement.  I'm  not 
above  admitting  that  I  share  the  lofty  notions  of 
the  cultivated  disciples  of  peace.  I'm  a  humani- 
tarian, and  opposed  on  principle  to  the  sacrifice  of 
human  life.  I  just  hate  butting  in  and  taking  hold. 
The  disordered  nature  of  my  heart  makes  it  dan- 
gerous for  me  to  exert  myself.  But  it  seems  to  me 
that  this  is  a  case  in  which  I  just  have  to.  But  if  I 
do,  I  want  to  handle  things  my  own  way.  So  you 
run  away  now,  Daisy.  Get  that  blue  banner  of  yours 
fluttering  in  the  breeze,  defying  death  and  destiny." 
He  turned  to  Konrad  Karl.  "I'd  be  obliged  to 
you,"  he  said,  "if  you'd  tell  that  highly  coloured 
ocean  warrior  that  I  count  on  him  not  to  start 
shooting  till  the  time  mentioned  in  his  ultimatum. 
That  leaves  me  an  hour  and  a  quarter  to  work  with 
the  nobler  weapons  of  civilized  pacifist  conviction. 


268  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

Tell  him  to  go  back  to  his  ship  and  see  that  his  men 
don't  get  monkeying  with  those  six  shells.  Gor- 
man," he  went  on,  "you  get  hold  of  Smith  and  send 
him  up  here  to  me." 

I  think  it  was  then  that  Gorman  first  realized  the 
strength  of  Donovan's  personality.  The  Queen, 
though  she  was  in  a  high  passion  of  patriotism  and 
defiance,  left  the  room  without  a  word.  Konrad 
Karl  spluttered  a  little,  uttering  a  series  of  ill- 
assorted  oaths,  but  he  walked  off  the  Megalian 
admiral  and  put  him  into  a  boat.  Gorman  himself 
did  what  he  was  told  without  asking  for  a  word  of 
explanation. 


CHAPTER   XXIII 

GORMAN  led  Smith  to  Donovan's  room.  The 
man  must  have  known  all  about  the  Megalian 
admiral's  threat.  He  probably  understood,  better 
than  any  one  else  on  the  island,  the  meaning  and 
purpose  of  the  ultimatum  presented  to  Donovan. 
But  he  showed  no  signs  of  embarrassment  or  ex- 
citement. When  Gorman  summoned  him — he  was 
brushing  a  pair  of  Konrad  Karl's  trousers  at  the 
moment — he  apologized  for  having  put  Gorman  to 
the  trouble  of  looking  for  him.  When  he  entered 
the  room  where  Donovan  waited  he  stood  quietly 
near  the  door  in  his  usual  attitude  of  respectful 
attention. 

Donovan  greeted  him  as  if  he  had  been  a  friend 
and  not  a  servant. 

"Take  a  chair,  Smith,  and  sit  down.  I  want  to 
talk  to  you." 

Smith  refused  to  accept  this  new  position. 

"Beg  pardon,  sir,"  he  said,  "but  if  it's  all  the 
same  to  you,  I'd  rather  stand.  Seems  more  natural, 
sir." 

Gorman,  who  had  followed  Smith  into  the  room, 
hovered  uncertainly  near  the  door.  He  very  much 
wanted  to  hear  what  Donovan  had  to  say;  but  he 
269 


270  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

was  not  quite  sure  whether  he  was  meant  to  be 
present. 

"Any  objection  to  my  staying?"  he  asked.  "I'm 
interested  in  international  peace  movements  and 
Hague  Conferences.  I'd  like  to  hear  how  you  mean 
to  work  this  affair." 

"Sit  down,"  said  Donovan,  "but  don't  get  inter- 
rupting. Now  that  I've  taken  hold  I  mean  to  handle 
this  damned  business  my  own  way." 

Gorman  sat  down  and  lit  his  pipe.  Donovan 
turned  to  Smith. 

"You're  a  valuable  man,  Smith,"  he  said,  "and 
I'd  like  to  retain  your  services." 

"Thank  you,  sir,"  said  Smith.  "I've  done  my 
best  to  give  satisfaction." 

"But  if  you're  to  stay  on  with  me,"  said  Dono- 
van, "we've  got  to  have  some  straight  talk.  I'd 
like  it  to  be  clearly  understood  that  your  engage- 
ment with  me  is  to  be  a  whole-time  job  for  the 
future." 

"More  satisfactory,  sir,  certainly." 

"At  present,"  said  Donovan,  "you're  also  engaged 
by  Mr.  Stein witz." 

"Not  by  Mr.  Steinwitz,  sir,  if  you'll  excuse  my 
correcting  you.  By  the  Emperor." 

Gorman  groaned  deeply.  Smith  turned  to  him, 
solicitous,  anxious  to  be  of  use. 

"Beg  pardon,  sir,  can  I  do  anything  for  you, 
sir?  Anything  wrong,  sir?" 

"No,"  said  Gorman,  "no.  The  mention  of  the 
Emperor  upsets  me  a  little.  That's  all.  Don't  do 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  271 

it  again,  if  you  can  help  it,  Smith.  I'm  sorry,  Dono- 
van. I  didn't  mean  to  interrupt." 

Smith  turned  to  Donovan  again. 

"Perhaps  I  should  say,  sir,  the  Imperial  Secret 
Service." 

"Salary?"  said  Donovan. 

He  showed  no  surprise,  anger  or  disgust.  Smith 
was  equally  cool.  He  answered  the  question  snapped 
at  him  as  if  it  had  been  the  most  natural  in  the 
world. 

"Well,  sir,  that  depends.  The  salary  varies 
according  to  circumstances.  And  there  are  allow- 
ances, travelling'  sir,  and  subsistence,  sometimes." 

"Average?"  said  Donovan,  "average  net 
profit?" 

Smith  thought  for  a  minute  before  answering. 
He  was  apparently  anxious  to  be  accurate  and 
honest. 

"I  think,  sir,  I  may  say  £200  a  year,  taking  one 
thing  with  another." 

"Well,"  said  Donovan,  "I'll  double  that,  in  addi- 
tion to  what  I'm  paying  you  at  present ;  on  condition 
that  you're  in  my  service  only.  As  I  said  before, 
Smith,  you're  a  valuable  man." 

"Thank  you,  sir,"  said  Smith.  "Very  generous 
of  you.  I  appreciate  the  offer,  but " 

He  paused.  He  had  some  objection  to  make,  but 
he  hesitated  to  put  it  into  words. 

"I  treble  the  Emperor's  two  hundred  pounds," 
said  Donovan. 

"I  beg  pardon,  sir.    I  wasn't  meaning  to  stand 


272  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

out  for  a  larger  salary.  That's  not  my  point,  sir. 
What  I  was  going  to  say,  sir,  was " 

Again  he  hesitated. 

"Patriotic  scruples?"  said  Donovan.  "Loyal  to 
the  Emperor?  Feel  kind  of  mean  deserting  the 
service  of  your  country?" 

"Oh  no,  sir,  not  at  all.  Scruples  aren't  in  my 
line,  sir,  and  I  am  Swiss  by  birth.  No  particular 
feeling  of  loyalty  to  anybody.  The  fact  is,  sir,  a 
man  must  keep  his  self-respect.  I  daresay  you'll 
understand.  I  had  no  objection  to  taking  on  a 
valet's  job,  sir,  in  the  way  of  business,  as  an  agent 
of  the  Intelligence  Department.  But  it's  rather  a 
different  thing,  sir — if  you  catch  my  point — to  enter 
domestic  service  as  a  profession.  A  man  doesn't 
like  to  lose  caste,  sir." 

"That's  a  real  difficulty,"  said  Donovan.  "As 
an  American  citizen  I  understand  your  feeling  and 
respect  it.  See  any  way  out?" 

"It  occurs  to  me,  sir — it's  for  you  to  decide,  of 
course.  But  it  occurs  to  me  that  if  I  might  enter 
the  Intelligence  Department  of  Salissa,  there'd  be 
no  interference  with  my  work  in  the  palace.  Any- 
thing I  could  do  to  make  you  comfortable.  But  as 

agent  of  the  Queen's  Secret  Service  I  should  be 

I  hope  you  catch  my  point,  sir.  You  see  I  held  a 
commission  at  one  time  in  the  Megalian  Army." 

"You  may  consider  yourself  engaged,  Smith," 
said  Donovan,  "or  perhaps  I  ought  to  say  nomi- 
nated, as  head  of  the  Intelligence  Department  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Salissa." 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  273 

"Thank  you,  sir.  When  would  you  like  me  to 
take  over  my  new  duties?" 

"You  can  begin  right  now,"  said  Donovan. 

"Very  good,  sir.  I  beg  to  report  that  England 
declared  war  on  Germany  this  morning.  The  news 
came  by  wireless  to  the  admiral." 

Gorman  dropped  his  pipe  and  sat  upright  sud- 
denly. 

"Good  Lord!"  he  said.  "England.  Germany. 
I  say,  Donovan,  if  this  is  true " 

Donovan  motioned  him  to  silence  with  a  wave 
of  his  hand. 

"Salissa,"  he  said,  "is  a  neutral  State." 

"But,"  said  Gorman,  "if  there's  a  European 
war " 

Dovovan  ignored  him. 

"Smith,"  he  said,  "that  admiral  informs  me  that 
he  has  orders  to  deport  us  from  this  island  and 
dump  us  down  somewhere  in  Sicily.  That  so  ?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Smith.  "Those  are  the  Emperor's 
orders.  Very  urgent  orders.  In  the  case  of  your 
refusal  to  obey,  the  admiral  is  to  fire  on  the  palace." 

"So  I  understand,"  said  Donovan.  "Now  what 
I  want  you  to  do  is  to  go  off  to  the  steamer  and 
negotiate  with  the  admiral." 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Shall  we  say  £500?  or  ought  I  to  go  higher?" 

"I  don't  think,"  said  Smith,  "that  it  will  be 
necessary  to  give  so  much.  If  you  will  allow  m$ 
to  suggest,  I'd  say  an  offer  of  £  10." 


274  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

For  the  first  time  since  the  interview  began 
Donovan  was  startled. 

"Ten  pounds!"  he  said.    "Do  you  mean  ten?" 

"Giving  me  permission  to  rise  to  twenty  pounds 
if  necessary,"  said  Smith. 

"But  an  admiral!"  said  Donovan.  "Remember 
he's  an  admiral." 

"Yes,  sir.  But  admirals  aren't  quite  the  same 
thing  here  as  in  England.  Don't  belong  to  the  same 
class.  Don't  draw  the  same  salary." 

"Make  it  twenty-five  pounds,"  said  Donovan. 
"I'd  be  ashamed  to  offer  less  to  a  Tammany  boss." 

"Very  good,  sir,  just  as  you  please,  sir." 

"Right,"  said  Donovan.  "And  now  we've  got 
that  settled,  and  we've  three-quarters  of  an  hour 
to  spare,  before  the  bombardment  is  timed  to  begin 
There  are  one  or  two  points  I'd  like  to  have  cleared 
tip.  But  I  wish  you'd  sit  down,  Smith,  and  take  a 
cigar.  As  head  of  the  Intelligence  Department  of 
this  kingdom " 

"If  you're  quite  sure,  sir,  that  there  isn't  any- 
thing you  want  me  to  fetch.  A  drink,  sir?" 

"Not  for  me,"  said  Donovan.    "I  want  to  talk." 

Smith  sat  down,  stretched  himself  comfortably  in 
a  deep  chair  and  lit  a  cigar. 

"What's  the  Emperor's  game?"  said  Donovan. 
"What's  he  after?  What  the  hell  does  he  mean  by 
monkeying  round  this  island  ever  since  I  bought 
it?" 

"Well,"  said  Smith,  "I  haven't  got  what  you 
could  call  official  knowledge  of  the  Emperor's  plans. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  275 

My  orders  came  to  me  through  Steinwitz,  and  Stein- 
witz  doesn't  talk  unnecessarily." 

The  servant  manner  and  the  cockney  accent  disap- 
peared when  Smith  sat  down.  He  talked  to  Donovan 
as  one  man  of  the  world  to  another. 

"Still,"  said  Donovan,  "you've  got  some  sort  of 
idea." 

"Last  December,"  said  Smith,  "I  was  in  London 
keeping  an  eye  on  King  Konrad  Karl.  The 
Emperor  liked  to  know  what  he  was  doing  One 
day  I  got  orders  to  take  delivery  of  some  large 
cisterns  from  a  firm  in  Germany,  paying  for  them 
by  cheque  drawn  on  my  own  account.  They  were 
consigned  to  me  as  water  cisterns.  My  business 
was  to  ship  them  to  Hamburg  and  hand  them  over 
to  Captain  von  Moll.  That's  all  I  was  told.  But  I 
happened  to  find  out  what  von  Moll's  orders  were. 
He  was  to  land  those  cisterns  in  Salissa.  I  satisfied 
myself  that  they  were  here  as  soon  as  I  arrived  with 
you  on  the  Ida.  Von  Moll  concealed  them  very 
well ;  but  he  was  a  bit  careless  in  other  ways.  He 
seems  to  have  lived  in  the  palace  while  he  was  here 
and  he  left  some  papers  lying  about,  torn  up  but  not 
burnt.  One  of  them  was  a  letter  from  Steinwitz. 
Phillips,  the  officer  of  the  Ida,  had  his  eye  on  those 
papers.  I  swept  them  up  and  destroyed  them." 

"And  the  cisterns?"  said  Donovan.  "What  are 
they  for?" 

"If  you  consider  the  geographical  position  of 
Salissa,  you'll  see  in  a  moment.  The  island  lies  a 
bit  off  the  main  steamer  route  between  Marseilles 


276  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

and  the  Suez  Canal;  but  not  too  far  off.  Now  I 
happen  to  know  that  the  Emperor  places  great  reli- 
ance on  submarines.  In  the  event  of  a  war  with 
England  he  depends  on  submarines  to  cut  the  trade 
routes  and  sink  transports.  But  submarines  operat- 
ing in  the  Mediterranean  require  bases  of  supply." 

"Petrol?"  said  Gorman. 

"And  spare  parts/'  said  Smith.  "That  was  the 
idea,  I  think.  So  long  as  the  island  was  under  the 
Crown  of  Megalia  there  was  no  difficulty.  Megalia 
wasn't  in  a  position  to  interfere  with  the  Emperor's 
plans." 

"The  Megalian  navy  certainly  isn't  first-rate," 
said  Donovan. 

"But  when  you  purchased  the  island,"  Smith 
went  on,  "things  were  different.  You  might  object 
to  the  use  the  Emperor  proposed  to  make  of  it. 
Your  Government  might  have  backed  you  up.  How 
far  do  you  think  your  Government  will  back  you  ?" 

"Darned  little,"  said  Donovan. 

"So  Steinwitz  seemed  to  think.  But  the  Emperor 
wasn't  taking  any  unnecessary  risks.  He  preferred 
that  the  island  should  return  to  the  Crown  of 
Megalia.  I  think  that's  the  whole  story  so  far  as  I 
know  it.  Perhaps  now  I  ought  to  be  getting  off  to 
see  that  admiral." 

"You  can  make  sure  of  managing  him,  I  sup- 
pose," said  Donovan. 

"Oh,  yes.  But  it  may  take  a  little  time.  He'll 
want  to  talk  and  I  must  consider  his  self-respect." 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  277 

"Quite  so,"  said  Donovan.  "We  all  like  to  keep 
our  self-respect,  even  admirals." 

Smith  stood  up. 

"Very  well,  sir,"  he  said,  "and  if  there's  nothing 
you  want,  sir " 

"Nothing,"  said  Donovan. 

"I  shall  be  back  in  time  to  serve  luncheon,  sir."1 

The  Smith  who  left  the  room  was  Donovan's 
valet,  not  the  head  of  the  Intelligence  Department 
of  Salissa. 

"Now  that,"  said  Donovan,  "is  an  example  of 
the  Pacifist  method  of  settling  disputes,  without 
appealing  to  force  or  sacrificing  human  life." 

"I  admire  it,"  said  Gorman.  "I  have  a  higher 
opinion  of  Pacifism  this  minute  than  I  ever  had 
before." 

"It's  civilized,"  said  Donovan,  "and  it's  cheap. 
I  don't  say  it  can  always  be  worked  as  cheap  as 
this;  but  it's  cheaper  than  war  every  time." 

"I  wonder,"  said  Gorman,  "if  it  would  work 
out  on  a  large  scale.  Take  the  case  of  the  Emperor 
now." 

"There  are  difficulties,"  said  Donovan.  "I  don't 
deny  that  there  are  difficulties.  It  isn't  always 
easy  to  get  hold  of  the  right  man  to  pay,  and  it's 
no  use  paying  the  wrong  one.  You  must  find  the 
real  boss,  and  he  has  a  trick  of  hiding  behind.  I 
remember  a  case  of  an  elevated  street  car  franchise 
in  a  town  in  the  Middle  West.  We  paid  three  times 
and  didn't  get  it  in  the  end  owing  to  not  striking 
the  man  who  mattered.  Still,  the  thing  can  be  done, 


278  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

and  according  to  my  notion  it's  the  best  way  out, 
better  than  fighting.  You  mentioned  this  darned 
Emperor.  Well,  I  don't  know.  He'd  have  to  be 
paid,  of  course ;  but  the  big  grafter,  the  man  who'd 
take  the  six-figure  cheque,  is  likely  not  the  Emperor. 
I  don't  know.  You'd  have  to  find  that  out.  But 
the  principle's  sound.  That's  why  I  call  myself  a 
Pacifist.  There's  tosh  talked  about  pacifism,  of 
course.  There  always  must  be  tosh  talked — and 
texts.  I  don't  undervalue  texts  as  a  means  of  influ- 
encing public  opinion.  But  the  principle  is  the  thing. 
It's  business.  Pay  a  big  price  to  the  man  who  can 
deliver  the  goods.  If  you  pay  a  big  enough  price 
he'll  hand  over." 

"That's  all  right,"  said  Gorman,  "when  you're 
dealing  with  business  men.  But  there  are  other 
men,  men  who  aren't  out  for  money,  who  want " 

Donovan  yawned. 

"There  are  lunatics,"  he  said,  "but  lunatics  don't 
run  the  world.  They  get  shut  up.  Most  men  aren't 
lunatics,  and  you'll  find  that  the  pacifist  idea  works 
out.  It's  the  everlasting  principle  of  all  com- 
merce." 

It  is  impossible  to  say  whether  Donovan's  pacifist 
principles  would  have  been  of  any  use  in  Europe 
in  1914.  They  were  not  tried,  and  he  admitted  that 
they  would  not  work  with  lunatics.  But  the  ever- 
lasting principle  of  all  commerce  proved  its  value 
in  the  case  of  the  Megalian  admiral.  He  did  not 
even  bargain  at  any  length.  Smith  returned  in 
rather  less  than  half  an  hour,  with  the  news  that 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  279 

the  admiral  had  accepted  £26  los.  He  made  only 
one  stipulation.  It  may  have  been  a  desire  to  pre- 
serve his  self-respect  or  a  determination  to  observe 
his  orders  in  the  letter  which  made  him  insist  on 
firing  one  shot  before  he  left  Salissa. 

"He  won't  aim  at  the  palace,  sir,"  said  Smith. 

"There'd  be  a  better  chance  of  his  missing  it,  if 
he  did,"  said  Donovan.  "It  makes  me  nervous  to 
see  men  like  those  sailors  playing  about  with  guns." 

"Yes,  sir.  That's  so,  sir.  But  in  this  case  I  don't 
think  you  need  have  any  anxiety.  The  shot  will 
go  right  over  the  palace.  I  laid  the  gun  myself  be- 
fore I  left  the  ship.  I  don't  know  if  I  mentioned 
it  to  you,  sir,  but  I  was  in  the  artillery  when  I  held 
a  commission  in  the  Megalian  Army." 

The  admiral  fired  his  shot  at  noon  precisely.  The 
shell  soared  high  above  the  palace,  passed  over  the 
cliff  behind  and  dropped  harmlessly  somewhere  in 
the  sea. 

The  Queen  and  Kalliope  stood  behind  the  flag- 
staff from  which  the  blue  banner  of  Salissa  flew. 
At  the  sound  of  the  shot,  while  the  shell's  shriek 
was  still  in  her  ears,  the  Queen  gave  her  order, 
Kalliope,  hauling  hand  over  hand  on  the  halyard, 
ran  up  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  It  flew  out  on  the 
breeze.  The  Queen,  flushed  with  pride  and  patriot- 
ism, defied  the  might  of  the  Megalian  navy. 

"Fire  on  that  if  you  dare,"  she  said. 

The  admiral  weighed  his  anchor,  fussily,  with 
much  shouting  and  swearing,  and  steamed  slowly 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

out  of  the  harbour.  As  he  went  he  dipped  his  ensign, 
saluting  the  Queen's  flags. 

Konrad  Karl,  standing  at  the  window  of  Madame 
Ypsilante's  room,  saved  that  lady  from  hysterics  by 
announcing  that  the  bombardment  was  over. 


CHAPTER    XXIV 

THEOLOGIANS  are  fond  of  speculative  sub- 
jects; but  I  do  not  remember  that  any  of  them 
have  discussed  the  feelings  of  Noah  and  his  family 
when  shut  up  in  the  ark.  What  did  they  talk  about 
when  they  came  together  in  the  evening  after  feed- 
ing the  various  animals  ?  No  doubt  they  congratu- 
lated each  other  on  their  escape.  No  doubt  they 
grumbled  occasionally  at  the  limited  accommoda- 
tion of  the  ark.  But  were  they  interested  in  what 
was  going  on  outside  ?  Did  they  guess  at  the  depth 
of  the  flood,  calculate  whether  this  or  that  town  were 
submerged,  discuss  the  fate  of  neighbours  and 
friends,  wonder  what  steps  the  Government  was 
taking  to  meet  the  crisis?  They  had  very  little 
chance  of  getting  accurate  information.  The  ark 
had  only  one  window,  and,  if  we  can  trust  the  artists 
who  illustrate  our  Bibles,  it  was  a  kind  of  sky- 
light. 

The  refugees  on  Salissa — if  refugees  is  the  proper 
word — were  in  one  respect  worse  off  than  Noah's 
family.  They  had  no  skylight.  The  wireless  mes- 
sage sent  to  the  Megalian  admiral  told  them  that 
the  Great  Powers  were  at  war.  After  that  they 
got  no  news  at  all  for  more  than  two  months.  The 
281 


282  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

windows,  not  this  time  of  heaven,  but  of  hell,  were 
opened.  The  fountains  of  the  great  deep  of  human 
ambition,  greed  and  passion  were  broken  up.  Lands 
where  men,  unguessing,  had  bought  and  sold,  mar- 
ried and  been  given  in  marriage,  were  submerged, 
swamped,  desolated.  Salissa  was  a  good  ark,  room- 
ier than  Noah's,  and  with  this  advantage,  that  it 
stayed  still  instead  of  tossing  about.  But  not  even 
Noah  was  so  utterly  cut  off  from  all  news  of  the 
catastrophe  outside. 

During  August  and  September  almost  anything 
might  have  happened.  Germans  might  have  ridden 
through  the  streets  of  Paris  and  London.  Russians 
might  have  placed  their  Czar  on  the  throne  of  the 
Hapsburgs  in  Vienna.  The  English  Fleet  might 
have  laid  Hamburg  in  ruins  and  anchored  in  the 
Kiel  Canal.  Men  might  have  died  in  millions.  Civ- 
ilization itself  might  have  been  swept  away.  But 
the  face  of  the  sun,  rising  on  Salissa  day  by  day, 
was  in  no  way  darkened  by  horror,  or  crimsoned 
with  shame.  The  sea  whispered  round  the  island 
shores,  but  brought  no  news  of  the  rushings  to  and 
fro  of  hostile  fleets.  The  winds  blew  over  battle- 
fields, but  they  reached  Salissa  fresh  and  salt-laden, 
untainted  by  the  odour  of  carnage  or  the  choking 
fumes  of  cannon  firing. 

Donovan  was  probably  the  only  one  of  the  party 
in  the  palace  who  was  entirely  satisfied  with  this 
position.  With  the  help  of  Smith  he  had  demon- 
strated the  efficacy  of  pacifist  methods,  and  saved 
the  island  from  bombardment.  In  less  than  a  week 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  283 

he  removed,  to  his  own  satisfaction,  the  scandal  of 
Konrad  Karl's  relations  with  Madame  Ypsilante. 
Then  he  handed  the  reins  of  government  to  the 
Queen  again  and  settled  down  to  the  business  of 
avoiding  exertion  and  soothing  the  disorder  of  his 
heart. 

To  Donovan  it  always  seemed  a  perfectly  natural 
and  simple  thing  that  Konrad  Karl  should  marry 
Madame  Ypsilante.  But  it  turned  out  to  be  rather 
difficult  to  arrange  the  matter.  Madame  herself  had 
no  particular  objection  to  being  married.  She  was 
lukewarm  and  indifferent  until  she  found  out  that 
the  Queen  was  looking  forward  to  the  wedding  as 
a  beautiful  finish  to  a  great  romance.  Madame  had 
a  grateful  soul  and  was  willing  to  do  much  to  please 
the  Queen  who  nursed  her  and  was  kind  to  her 
while  she  lay  in  bed  exhausted  by  her  journey.  Her 
contempt  for  the  American  miss  vanished,  as  soon 
as  she  understood  that  neither  her  pearls  nor  Konrad 
Karl  were  to  be  taken  from  her.  Besides,  there 
is  always  pleasure  to  be  got  out  of  preparing  for  a 
wedding.  It  was  impossible,  indeed,  to  buy  clothes 
on  Salissa.  But  it  was  not  impossible  to  accept 
presents  from  the  Queen's  ample  wardrobe.  A  great 
deal  of  interesting  fitting  and  altering  was  done, 
and  in  the  end  Madame  had  an  ample  trousseau. 
The  Queen,  with  the  help  of  Smith,  made  an  im- 
mense and  splendid  wedding  cake. 

It  was  Konrad  Karl  who  created  difficulties.  He 
said — and  Donovan  believed  him — that  he  was  per- 
sonally quite  willing  to  marry  Madame  Ypsilante. 


284  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

He  desired  to  marry  her.  She  was  the  only  woman 
in  the  world  whom  he  would  marry  of  his  own  free 
will.  But  he  remained  incurably  terrified  of  the 
Emperor.  Donovan  talked  to  him  about  the  rights 
of  free  citizens.  He  said  that  the  humblest  man 
had  power  to  choose  his  wife.  Nothing  he  said  had 
the  slightest  influence  on  Konrad  Karl. 

"But,"  the  King  used  to  reply,  "you  do  not 
understand.  I  am  a  king." 

"Well,"  said  Donovan,  "according  to  my  notions 
that's  the  same  thing,  only  more  so." 

"Ah,  no,"  said  the  King.  "Ah,  damn  it,  no.  A 
king  is  not  bourgeois,  what  you  call  citizen.  That 
is  the  point.  It  is  because  I  am  a  king  that  the 
Emperor  interferes.  If  I  were  a  citizen,  but " 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders  helplessly. 

Gorman  tried  him  along  a  different  line. 

"Look  here,"  he  said,  "the  Emperor  has  got  him- 
self into  a  nasty  mess.  He's  in  for  a  big  war.  He 
can't  possibly  have  any  time  to  spare  to  worry  over 
who  you  marry." 

"To-day,  no,"  said  the  King,  "but  to-morrow  the 
Emperor  wins  the  war,  and  then " 

"I  wouldn't  be  too  cocksure  of  his  winning,"  said 
Gorman. 

"It  is  surer  than  any  cock,"  said  the  King.  "It 
was  settled  long  ago.  I  do  not  understand  Re&l 
Politik,  but  I  know  that  much.  The  Emperor  wins 
the  war.  Then  he  says  to  me :  'Konrad,  you  mar- 
ried her.  Good.  You  are  in  a  fortress  for  life.' 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  285 

And  I  am.  You  do  not  understand  the  Emperor, 
my  friend." 

"I'm  beginning  to,"  said  Gorman. 

It  was  Smith  who  talked  over  Konrad  Karl  in 
the  end.  I  am  sure  that  Donovan  would  not  have 
approved  of  his  argument.  I  doubt  whether  Gorman 
would  have  cared  to  use  it.  Smith  said  frankly  that 
a  marriage  performed  by  Stephanos  the  Elder  would 
be  no  marriage  at  all  outside  the  Island  of  Salissa 
and  could  be  repudiated  at  any  time  without  the 
slightest  inconvenience. 

"You  think,"  said  the  King,  "that  I  wish  to 
desert  Corinne.  But  never." 

"Beg  pardon,  your  Majesty,"  said  Smith.  "That 
wasn't  the  idea  in  my  mind.  What  I  was  thinking 
of,  your  Majesty,  was  the  way  the  matter  might  be 
represented  to  the  Emperor." 

The  King  saw  the  point.  On  the  whole  he  seems 
to  have  been  pleased  when  his  last  difficulty  was 
removed  and  he  was  actually  able  to  marry  his 
beloved  Corinne. 

I  do  not  think  they  were  very  happy  afterwards. 
They  were,  no  doubt,  well  enough  suited  to  each 
other.  But  neither  of  them  was  suited  to  a  life  on 
Salissa.  Monotony  preyed  on  them.  They  both  suf- 
fered from  a  kind  of  homesickness,  an  aching  hun- 
ger for  streets,  theatres,  shops,  the  rattle  of  traf- 
fic, the  glitter  of  city  life  at  night.  They  would  have 
been  good  friends  if  they  had  been  able  to  live  their 
proper  lives.  Even  on  Salissa  King  Konrad  Karl 
remained  a  lover.  But  they  bickered  a  great  deal 


286  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

and  sometimes  openly  quarrelled.  Then  Madame 
would  retire  to  her  room  and  sulk  for  hours  or 
whole  days,  while  the  King  wandered  about  the 
palace  and  bewailed  the  cruelty  of  Corinne. 

Gorman  too,  in  his  own  way,  suffered  from  home- 
sickness and  had  fits  of  irritation.  He  had  lived 
his  life  in  the  centre  of  events,  not  great  events,  but 
such  things  as  intrigues  at  Westminster,  changes  of 
Governments,  and  amendments,  in  committees,  of 
Acts  of  Parliament.  He  had  always  known  what 
was  going  on  in  the  world.  He  found  himself  hope- 
lessly shut  off  from  all  news  of  the  greatest  happen- 
ings of  his  time.  He  wanted  desperately  to  know 
what  England  was  doing,  whether  the  French  had 
risen  to  the  occasion.  He  wanted,  above  all,  to 
know  about  Ireland.  Was  Ireland  in  the  throes  of 
a  civil  war,  or  were  her  children  taking  their  places 
in  the  ranks  of  the  Allied  Armies?  Gorman  was 
unreasonably  annoyed  by  King  Konrad  Karl's  cer- 
tainty that  the  Emperor  would  win  the  war  and  by 
Donovan's  passive  neutrality  of  sentiment.  For 
Gorman  neutrality  in  any  quarrel  was  no  doubt 
inconceivable.  As  a  younger  man  he  might  have 
been  a  rebel  and  given  his  life  in  some  wild  struggle 
against  the  power  of  England;  or  he  might  have 
held  the  King's  commission  and  led  other  Irishmen 
against  a  foreign  foe.  He  could  never,  if  a  great 
fight  were  going  on,  have  been  content  to  stand 
aside  as  Donovan  did ;  neither  praising  nor  blaming, 
neither  hoping  for  victory  nor  fearing  defeat. 

Even  more  difficult  to  bear  was  Konrad  Karl's 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  287 

conviction  that  the  Emperor  was  invincible.  It  does 
not  appear  that  the  King  had  any  particular  wish  for 
a  German  victory.  He  would  perhaps  have  pre- 
ferred to  see  the  Emperor  beaten  and  humiliated. 
But  that  seemed  to  him  outside  all  possibility.  The 
Emperor's  triumph  was  as  inevitable  as  the  chang- 
ing of  the  seasons.  A  man  may  not  wish  for  winter 
or  the  east  winds  of  spring;  but  he  does  not  soothe 
himself  with  hopes  that  the  long  days  of  summer 
will  continue.  It  seemed  to  Konrad  Karl  merely 
foolish  that  Gorman  should  speak  as  if  the  issue  of 
the  war  were  in  any  doubt. 

Gorman  has  often  spoken  to  me  about  his  feel- 
ings at  this  time. 

"I  could  have  broken  Konrad  Karl's  head  with 
pleasure,"  he  said  once.  "I  had  to  hold  myself 
tight  if  I  did  not  mean  to  fall  on  him.  He  was  so 
infernally  certain  that  the  Emperor  would  wipe  the 
floor  with  us.  Us!  Isn't  it  a  queer  thing  now? 
Here  I  am,  a  man  who  has  been  abusing  the  Eng- 
lish all  my  life,  and  hating  them — I  give  you  my 
word  that  I've  always  hated  the  self-sufficiency  and 
nauseating  hypocrisy  of  the  English.  There's  noth- 
ing I've  wanted  more  than  to  see  them  damned 
well  thrashed  by  somebody.  And  yet  the  minute 
anybody  comes  along  to  thrash  them  I'm  up  on  my 
hind  legs,  furious,  talking  about  'Us'  and  'We'  and 
'Our'  army  just  as  if  I  were  an  Englishman 
myself." 

Gorman  made  every  effort  in  his  power  to  get 
oews  of  some  sort.  He  tried  to  bribe  the  island 


288  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

fishermen  to  sail  over  to  the  mainland  in  their  largest 
boat.  He  offered  to  go  with  them.  It  was  a  voyage 
which  they  sometimes  made.  In  fine  weather  there 
was  no  great  difficulty  about  it.  But  Gorman's 
bribes  were  offered  in  vain.  A  curious  fear  pos- 
sessed the  islanders;  the  same  fear  which  laid  hold 
of  the  souls  of  simple  people  all  over  Europe  at 
that  time.  They  were  afraid  of  some  vast  evil, 
undefined,  unrealized,  and  their  terror  kept  them 
close  to  the  shadows  of  their  homes.  The  most 
that  Gorman  could  persuade  them  to  do  was  to 
take  him  a  few  miles  out  to  sea  in  one  of  their  boats. 
There  he  used  to  stay  for  an  hour  or  so,  for  so  long 
as  the  men  with  him  would  consent  to  remain, 
going  out  as  often  as  they  would  go  with  him.  His 
hope  was  that  he  might  see  some  ship,  hail  her, 
and  get  news  from  her  crew.  But  no  steamer,  no 
fishing  boat  even,  came  in  sight. 

Of  all  the  people  on  the  island,  Gorman  was  the 
most  to  be  pitied  except  perhaps  the  Queen. 

For  awhile  she  was  happy  enough.  The  wedding 
interested  and  excited  her.  The  presence  of  guests 
in  the  palace  gave  her  much  to  think  about  and 
do.  She  was  busy  with  her  school.  She  still  found 
pleasure  in  roaming  over  the  island  with  Kalliope, 
but  there  came  a  time  when  she  began  to  expect 
the  arrival  of  the  Ida.  She  knew  how  long  the 
voyage  to  England  took.  She  made  calculations  of 
the  time  required  for  loading  the  steamer  with  her 
new  cargo.  She  fixed  a  day,  the  earliest  possible, 
on  which  the  Ida  might  reach  Salissa  again.  That 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  289 

day  passed,  and  many  after  it.  The  Ida  was  over- 
due, long  overdue. 

The  Queen  used  to  ask  questions  of  every  one, 
seeking  comfort  and  assurance.  She  got  little.  Kon- 
rad  Karl's  conviction  that  the  Emperor  must  be 
victorious  was  not  cheering.  Gorman  supposed  that 
the  Ida  might  have  been  taken  over  by  the  Admi- 
ralty, or  might  have  been  forbidden  to  sail,  or  that 
Captain  Wilson  might  be  unwilling  to  take  risks 
if  enemy  cruisers  were  at  large  on  the  high  seas. 
Smith  coolly  discussed  the  possibility  of  a  blockade 
of  the  English  coasts  by  German  submarines.  Kal- 
liope  was  the  Queen's  only  comforter.  She  had  no 
theories  about  war  or  politics,  but  she  had  a  pro- 
found conviction  of  the  certainty  of  lovers  meeting. 

"He  will  come  once  more,"  she  said,  "sure 
thing." 

That  was  the  Queen's  conviction  too.  But  it  was 
weary  work  waiting. 

There  is  a  nook,  a  little  hollow,  high  up  on  one 
of  the  western  cliffs  of  the  island  where  it  is  possible 
to  sit,  sheltered  among  tall  ferns,  and  gaze  out 
across  the  sea.  There  came  a  time  towards  the  end 
of  September,  when  the  Queen  used  to  climb  up 
there  every  morning  and  sit  for  hours  watching  for 
the  Ida.  Kalliope  went  with  her.  They  erected  a 
little  flagstaff.  They  carried  up  the  blue  banner  of 
Salissa.  It  was  the  Queen's  plan  to  signal  a 
welcome  to  her  lover  when  she  saw  his  ship.  Above 
the  nook  in  which  they  sat  the  two  girls  laid  a 
beacon  fire,  a  great  pile  of  dry  wood,  dragged  up 


290  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

the  cliff  with  immense  toil.  The  Queen  thought  of 
leaping  flames  and  a  tall  column  of  smoke  which 
should  catch  her  lover's  eyes  and  tell  him  that  she 
was  waiting  for  him.  But  day  after  day  the  calm 
sea  lay  shining,  vacant.  Evening  after  evening  the 
Queen  came  sadly  home  again,  a  cold  fear  in  her 
heart,  bitter  disappointment  choking  her.  Then 
Kalliope  would  do  her  best  for  her  mistress,  repeat- 
ing over  and  over  her  comforting  phrases. 

"He  will  come  once  more.    Sure  thing.    Damned 
sure." 


CHAPTER   XXV 

THE  strain  on  the  nerves  of  the  party  in  the 
palace  became  more  and  more  severe.  During 
the  second  week  in  October  it  almost  reached  the 
breaking  point.  For  four  days  the  sirocco  blew 
across  the  island.  The  sky  was  grey  and  seemed  ta 
press  down  on  sea  and  land,  heavy,  unbroken,  intol- 
erably near.  The  wind  blew  strongly,  but  with  none 
of  the  fresh  boisterous  fierceness  of  a  northern  gale. 
There  was  a  sullen  malignity  about  its  force.  Out 
at  sea  grey-topped  waves  wrangled  and  strove  to- 
gether confusedly.  They  broke  in  a  welter  of  soiled 
foam  across  the  reef  which  lay  opposite  the  mouth 
of  the  bay.  Within  the  harbour  little  waves,  like 
jagged  steel  blades,  rose,  hissed  at  each  other  spite- 
fully, and  perpetually  stabbed  at  the  rocky  shore. 

The  close,  suffocating  heat  oppressed  men  and5 
beasts.  The  islanders  retreated  into  their  cottages 
and  lay,  patiently  enduring,  till  the  vile  wind  should 
pass  away.  Cattle  cowered  for  shelter  under  the 
lee  of  walls  or  among  the  bent,  swaying  trees. 
Donovan  sat  alone  in  his  room  in  the  palace.  He 
sweated  continuously  though  he  wore  little  clothing. 
He  was  the  victim  of  many  kinds  of  physical  uneas- 
iness, pains  which  would  not  quite  declare  them- 
291 


292  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

selves,  restless  fidgetings  of  his  limbs,  vague 
depression  of  spirit.  Konrad  Karl  and  Madame 
quarrelled  openly  and  bitterly.  His  revilings  stung 
her.  Her  own  ill-temper  left  her  raw.  She  fled 
to  her  room  and  locked  herself  into  it.  The  King, 
perversely  persistent,  went  after  her.  He  could  be 
heard  scolding  her  through  the  closed  door  at  one 
moment,  begging  pathetically  for  admittance  at 
another.  Gorman  wandered  restlessly  from  room  to 
room.  He  opened  windows,  panting  for  air,  and 
closed  them  with  a  curse  when  the  hot  blast  of  the 
sirocco  smote  him  in  the  face.  Smith,  alone  of  all 
the  party,  preserved  his  self-control.  The  sweat 
trickled  down  his  face;  but  he  was  alert,  attentive, 
busy,  as  if  the  sun  shone  and  the  breeze  blew  fresh 
across  sparkling  water. 

The  Queen  found  the  palace  intolerable,  worse 
than  the  wind  outside.  Very  soon  after  breakfast 
she  went  out.  Kalliope,  faithful  even  amid  the  tor- 
ment of  the  sirocco,  followed  her.  They  struggled 
together  towards  their  watch  place  on  the  cliff.  The 
wind  buffeted  them,  set  their  hair  floating  wildly, 
struck  their  eyelids  painfully.  Their  legs  were 
caught  and  held  by  tangling  petticoats.  Sometimes 
as  the  path  twisted  they  headed  right  against  the 
storm.  Then  bent  almost  double,  they  bored  their 
way  through  dense  resisting  air.  Sometimes,  mov- 
ing slantwise,  they  were  caught  by  a  side  blast,  and 
then  they  walked  leaning  at  a  sharp  angle  against 
the  wind.  Or,  for  a  little  while,  they  scudded  before 
it,  driven  against  their  wills  to  swift  motion  which 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  293 

was  unbearably  exhausting.  More  than  once  Kal- 
liope  flung  herself  down  and  lay  flat,  panting  on 
the  shelterless  grass.  If  she  had  taken  her  own 
way  she  would  have  given  the  struggle  up.  But 
the  Queen,  though  she  too  gasped  for  breath,  would 
not  turn  back  or  rest  for  more  than  a  few  minutes. 
She  was  determined  to  reach  the  look-out  post  on 
the  cliff.  In  the  end  she  got  there. 

Kalliope  lay  at  full  length,  face  downwards,  in 
the  little  hollow.  The  Queen  sat  beside  her  and* 
looked  out  to  sea.  Her  hair  was  blown  backwards. 
Her  blouse,  its  fastenings  torn,  was  blown  open  at 
her  neck.  Her  face  was  flecked  with  tiny  crystals 
of  salt.  She  breathed  in  quick  short  pants.  She 
kept  her  eyelids  open  with  an  effort  against  the 
blast. 

The  welter  of  grey  water,  broken  everywhere 
with  splashes  of  lighter  grey  foam,  merged  into  the 
misty  grey  of  the  low  enveloping  clouds.  The  half 
circle  of  the  horizon  seemed  very  near.  She  watched 
the  waves  rise,  rush  forward,  curl  their  crests  over 
and  break  in  foam.  In  one  place  the  foam  was 
whiter,  thicker  than  elsewhere.  The  waves  broke 
more  frequently  there.  It  was  as  if  a  patch 
of  very  fiercely  breaking  water  moved  towards  the 
island.  Behind  it,  before  it,  and  on  either  side  of 
it  the  waves  tossed  and  broke.  On  this  one  patch 
they  broke  more  constantly  and  more  wildly.  In  a 
little  while  the  Queen  got  glimpses  of  a  dark  mass 
which  rose  from  the  middle  of  this  breaking  water. 
Then  she  saw,  clear  above  the  foam,  a  short  thick 


294  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

mast.  She  guessed  that  in  the  middle  of  the  break- 
ing water,  half  submerged,  washed  constantly  from 
stem  to  stern,  there  was  a  boat  which  made  for  the 
shore. 

The  Queen  watched,  fascinated.  The  boat  held 
her  course  for  the  island.  She  reached  the  corner 
of  the  reef  outside  the  bay.  She  swung  round  it 
and  was  to  be  seen  plainly  at  last  in  the  sheltered 
water  of  the  harbour.  She  was  a  long  low  boat, 
narrow,  sharply  pointed  bow  and  stern.  A  turret 
rose  amidships.  The  smooth  rounded  slope  of  her 
deck  was  broken  only  by  a  hand  rail  which  stretched 
fore  and  aft  from  the  turret.  The  Queen  had  seen 
no  craft  like  her,  but  she  knew  what  she  was,  a 
submarine. 

The  Queen  seized  Kalliope  by  the  arm  and  pointed 
to  the  boat.  It  was  impossible  to  talk  up  there  on 
the  cliff  in  the  storm.  The  two  girls  struggled  to 
their  feet.  They  started  on  their  way  back  to  the 
palace.  Hand  in  hand,  running,  tripping,  buffeted, 
breathless,  they  reached  the  bottom  of  the  cliff. 

The  Queen  and  Kalliope  were  the  first  to  see  the 
submarine;  but  when  she  rounded  the  corner  of 
the  reef  and  entered  the  harbour  every  one  on  the 
island  was  aware  of  her  arrival.  From  the  houses 
of  the  village  men  came  out  and  stood  on  the  beach 
staring  at  the  strange  craft  which  moved  across 
their  bay.  In  the  palace  King  Konrad  Karl  saw 
her  and  knew  at  once  what  she  was.  The  effect 
her  arrival  produced  on  him  was  curious.  Better 
than  any  one  else  on  the  island  except  perhaps 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  295 

Smith,  he  understood  the  German  war  spirit  and 
guessed  what  the  coming  of  the  submarine  might 
mean.  Yet  he  seemed  actually  pleased  to  see  her. 
He  hurried  to  find  Gorman.  All  the  nervous  agi- 
tation which  had  set  him  quarrelling  with  his 
Corinne  disappeared.  The  effects  of  the  horrible 
dullness  and  intolerable  boredom  of  the  past  three 
months  dropped  away  in  an  instant.  The  sirocco 
no  longer  afflicted  him.  He  greeted  Gorman  with 
smiles.  He  was  once  more  the  irrepressible,  cheery, 
street  arab  among  kings,  who  had  swindled  the 
British  public  with  his  Vino  Regalis,  who  defied  all 
conventional  decencies  in  his  relations  with  Madame 
Ypsilante,  who  had  failed  to  pay  his  bills  in  London 
and  tried  to  outwit  the  Emperor  over  the  sale  of 
Salissa. 

"Gorman,"  he  said,  "my  friend  Gorman.  Once 
more  we  are  alive.  Many  things  happen.  It  is  a 
hand  of  no  trumps  doubled  and  redoubled.  Gor- 
man, I  palpitate,  I  thrill.  We  arrive  at  the  moment 
of  destiny.  Behold  destiny!" 

Gorman,  who  was  looking  out  of  the  window,  saw 
the  submarine,  but  did  not  for  the  moment  recognize 
destiny.  He  agreed  with  the  King  that  her  arrival 
made  a  desirable  break  in  the  monotony  that 
oppressed  them.  But  the  situation  did  not  strike 
him  as  equal  in  emotional  value  to  a  redoubled 
hand  at  bridge.  The  best  he  hoped  for  was  some 
fresh  company,  a  little  news  from  the  outside  world 
and  possibly  a  bundle  of  newspapers. 

"Submarine?"  he  said.    "English  or  German,  do 


296  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

you  think?  and  what  do  you  suppose  she  wants 
here?" 

"English,  pooh!  By  this  time  no  English  ships 
are  left  on  the  sea.  It  is  an  under- water  boat  of 
the  Emperor,  and  she  comes  to  seek  the  petrol  stored 
in  the  cave." 

"Liable  to  disappointment  then,"  said  Gorman. 
"That  petrol's  gone." 

"I  know  it,"  said  the  King,  "therefore  I  say  'Be- 
hold destiny/  But  I,  Gorman,  I  laugh  at  destiny. 
I  mock.  I  snap  the  finger  and  thumb  of  my  hand. 
So."  He  snapped  the  fingers  of  both  hands  with 
airy  defiance.  "I  am  a  king.  I  play  a  game  until 
the  end.  I  die  game-playing.  And  Corinne  will  not 
grieve  too  much.  On  Salissa  I  think  Corinne  love? 
less  than  in  Paris.  Hurrah,  Gorman.  Hip,  and 
hip,  and  hurrah,  three  times." 

Gorman  was  not  impressed  by  this  rhapsody.  He 
was  not  yet  sufficiently  roused  from  the  bad  temper 
and  depression  induced  by  the  sirocco  to  appreciate 
the  King's  exalted  mood. 

"I  suppose,"  he  said,  "that  Donovan  will  ask  the 
captain  to  dinner.  I  hope  to  goodness  he  can  talk 
English.  There's  a  lot  of  news  I  want  to  hear." 

Donovan,  sitting  alone  in  his  room,  did  not  see 
the  arrival  of  the  submarine.  It  was  Smith  who 
reported  the  matter  to  him. 

"Warship  of  a  belligerent  nation?**  said  Dono- 
van. 

"Yes,  sir;  German,  sir." 

"German  or  English,"  said  Donovan,  "it's  the 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  297 

same  thing.  This  is  a  neutral  State  and  we  haven't 
got  any  quarrel  with  either  party." 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Smith.  "Quite  so,  sir.  But,  I 
beg  your  pardon.  She's  German." 

Donovan  thought  this  over  for  a  minute. 

"I  appreciate  your  feelings,  Smith,"  he  said,  "and 
I  don't  deny  that  your  situation  might  be  an  awk- 
ward one  if  this  wasn't  a  neutral  State.  But  you're 
in  the  service  of  the  Crown  of  Salissa  now,  and 
I  reckon  that  any  attempt  to  inflict  punishment  on 
you  would  be  contrary  to  international  law." 

"I'm  sure  you  know  best,  sir." 

"That's  as  good  as  to  say  that  your  interpreta- 
tion of  international  law  is  superior  to  mine.  It 
may  be.  But  the  matter  will  have  to  come  before 
the  superior  courts  before  anything's  settled." 

"It's  not  that,  sir,"  said  Smith.  "I'm  not  afraid 
of  the  law." 

"Oh,"  said  Donovan,  "you're  inclined  to  think 
that  the  German  captain  may  trample  on  the  law  ?" 

"Seeing  as  how  you've  no  guns,  sir,  he  might." 

"Smith,"  said  Donovan,  "just  look  out  of  that 
window  and  tell  me  what  banner  the  Queen  has 
flying  from  the  flagpost.  Old  Glory,  isn't  it?" 

"The  American  flag,  sir.     Yes,  sir." 

"Well,"  said  Donovan,  "I  guess  that's  good." 

Smith  appears  to  have  been  remarkably  cool. 
Both  Donovan  and  Gorman  agree  that  he  showed 
no  sign  of  fear  or  excitement.  Yet  he  must  have 
known  that  he  was  in  serious  danger.  He  had  been 
a  member  of  the  German  Secret  Service.  He  had 


298  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

deserted  it,  revealed  its  secrets  and  acted  against 
his  employers.  He  had  very  good  reason  to  expect 
to  be  hanged  or  shot  within  the  next  couple  of 
hours.  He  cannot,  I  imagine,  have  placed  much 
confidence  in  the  protection  afforded  by  the  Amer- 
ican flag.  But  he  seems  to  have  had  a  profound 
belief  in  Donovan. 

When  the  Queen  and  Kalliope,  wind  torn  and 
dishevelled,  reached  the  palace,  it  was  Smith  who 
met  them  and  in  answer  to  her  eager  questions  told 
the  Queen  that  the  submarine  was  German.  He 
added  that  the  captain  would  probably  come  ashore. 
He  asked  where  the  Queen  would  like  to  receive 
him. 

"I'm  afraid,  your  Majesty,"  he  said,  "that  there 
may  be  some  trouble.  I  mean  to  say  that  it  won't 
be  quite  a  friendly  visit  to  your  Majesty.  He'll  be 
expecting  a  supply  of  petrol,  and " 

The  Queen  gave  a  little  gasp  of  surprise.  Then 
she  burst  into  a  peal  of  laughter. 

"There's  not  a  drop  left,"  she  said.  "He'll  be 
just  mad.  I  wonder  what  he'll  say.  Do  you  think 
he'll  be  rude?" 

"Quite  possibly,  your  Majesty,"  said  Smith. 
"The  Germans  haven't  got  very  good  manners." 

"We'll  have  him  in  the  big  hall,  Smith.  And 
we'll  all  be  there.  If  he's  nice  about  the  petrol  and 
takes  it  as  a  joke  we'll  ask  him  to  dinner.  If  he's 
rude  he  can  just  go  back  to  his  old  submarine  and 
sulk  by  himself." 

Smith  was  quick  in  making  preparations  for  the 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  299 

reception  in  the  great  hall.  But  the  captain  of  the 
submarine  reached  the  landing  steps  before  the  party 
in  the  palace  was  ready  for  him.  The  Queen  hur- 
ried into  the  hall  and  took  her  seat  on  a  chair  which 
Smith  placed  for  her.  Konrad  Karl  ran  to  warn 
his  Corinne  to  stay  in  her  room  and  keep  the  door 
locked.  Smith  went  to  summon  Donovan.  Gorman, 
eager  now  and  full  of  curiosity,  stood  at  the  door 
of  the  hall  to  watch  the  landing  of  the  German 
officer.  As  the  Queen  took  her  seat  he  turned  to 
her. 

"Hullo,"  he  said,  "it's  our  old  friend  von  Moll." 

"That  man!"  said  the  Queen. 

"Funny  to  think  of  his  turning  up  here  again," 
said  Gorman.  "Hope  he'll  keep  sober  this  time." 

Von  Moll  was  sober  enough  at  the  moment.  He 
stood  very  erect,  very  stern,  most  awe-inspiring 
while  his  men  landed,  six  of  them,  all  armed.  Then 
he  tramped  up  the  steps.  He  halted  for  a  minute 
on  the  terrace  where  the  flagstaff  was.  He  gave  an 
order.  One  of  his  men  drew  a  knife  from  a  sheath 
and  cut  the  flag  halyard.  The  Stars  and  Stripes 
crumpled  up  and  fluttered  down  the  wind. 

Gorman  turned  to  the  Queen  again. 

"Your  flag's  gone,"  he  said.  "Von  Moll  appears 
to  be  in  a  bit  of  a  temper." 

Then  he  stepped  out  of  the  hall  and  went  forward 
down  the  path.  He  held  out  his  hand  to  von  Moll. 

"How  are  you?"  he  said.  "Perfectly  beastly 
day,  isn't  it?  Any  news?" 

Von  Moll  marched  on,  taking  no  notice  whatever 


300  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

of  his  friendly  greeting.  Gorman,  smiling  pleas- 
antly, followed  him  towards  the  hall. 

"Been  in  any  more  naval  battles  since  we  last 
met?"  said  Gorman.  "By  the  way,  was  there  any 
fuss  when  you  got  home  about  that  man's  teeth?" 

Von  Moll  stalked  into  the  hall.  Gorman  followed 
him. 

"It's  no  use  your  pretending  not  to  understand 
English,"  he  said.  "You  talked  it  splendidly  last 
time  you  were  here." 

Von  Moll  made  no  pretence  at  politeness.  He  did 
not  eyen  salute  the  Queen.  He  looked  round  him 
with  an  insolent  glare.  Konrad  Karl  hurried 
through  the  door  at  the  far  end  of  the  hall  and 
took  his  place  at  the  Queen's  side.  He  had  a  lighted 
cigarette  in  his  hand.  It  could  not  be  said  of  him 
that  he  was  frightened ;  but  he  was  certainly  excited. 
He  fidgeted  nervously  with  his  moustache  and  his 
eyes  were  unusually  bright.  Von  Moll  watched  him 
for  a  minute  and  then  spoke. 

"King  Konrad  Karl,"  he  said,  "you  will  consider 
yourself  under  arrest  and  be  prepared  to  follow  me 
on  board." 

The  King  gave  a  little  twist  to  his  moustache. 

"By  whose  authority  do  you  give  these  orders  ?" 
he  said. 

"The  Emperor's." 

Von  Moll  clicked  his  heels  together  and  saluted  as 
he  spoke.  King  Konrad  Karl  shrugged  his  shoul- 
ders. Gorman,  determined  not  to  be  ignored  this 
time,  took  von  Moll  by  the  arm. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  301 

"I  say,  von  Moll,"  he  said.  "After  the  fright- 
fully impressive  way  you  said  that,  we  ought  to 
have  some  sort  of  demonstration.  Let's  drink  the 
old  boy's  health  and  say  'Hoch!'  or  whatever  the 
proper  thing  is.  I'm  sure  you  must  want  a  drink, 
and  those  swashbucklers  of  yours" — he  looked 
round  at  von  Moll's  six  men — "could  hold  hands 
and  sing  'Deutschland  iiber  Alles'  It  would  cheer 
us  all  up." 

The  Queen  looked  at  von  Moll  in  amazement. 
Then  she  glanced  at  Konrad  Karl.  While  Gorman 
was  speaking  she  made  up  her  mind  to  assert  her- 
self. 

"You  forget,"  she  said,  "that  King  Konrad  Karl 
is  my  guest,  and  so  are  you  while  you  are  in  my 
house." 

Donovan,  still  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  looking  rery 
tired  and  hot,  slouched  into  the  hall  while  the  Queen 
spoke.  Smith  followed  him.  The  Queen,  nervous 
and  half  frightened  in  spite  of  her  brave  words, 
turned  to  him. 

"Oh,  father,"  she  said,  "I  am  glad  you've  come." 

Donovan  nodded  to  von  Moll. 

"Sit  right  down,"  he  said,  "there's  a  chair  behind 
you.  You'll  stay  for  luncheon,  won't  you?" 

He  sat  down  himself  as  he  spoke  and  took  a  cigar 
out  of  his  case. 

"Smith,"  he  said,  "cocktails."     • 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Smith. 

Von  Moll  turned  to  the  men  behind  him  and 
pointed  to  Smith. 


302  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

"Arrest  that  man,"  he  said. 

Two  of  the  sailors  stepped  forward  and  crossed 
the  hall  towards  Smith. 

"Say,"  said  Donovan,  "is  this  a  rehearsal  for 
a  cinema?  and  when  do  you  reckon  to  have  the 
camera  operating?" 

"That  man,"  said  von  Moll,  pointing  to  Smith, 
"is  a  deserter  from  the  service  of  the  Emperor  and 
a  spy.  He  pays  the  penalty." 

Donovan  deliberately  cut  the  end  off  his  cigar 
and  struck  a  match.  Then  he  looked  up  at  von 
Moll. 

"Seems  to  me,"  he  said,  "that  there's  some  kind 
of  misunderstanding.  I'm  not  blaming  you,  Captain, 
not  at  all.  But  this  is  a  neutral  State,  and  according 
to  international  law  you  can't  butt  in  and  arrest 
citizens  without  applying  for  an  extradition  order 
in  the  regular  way." 

"You  talk  like  a  fool,"  said  von  Moll.  "This  is 
war." 

He  gave  a  fresh  order  to  his  men. 

"Take  him,"  he  said.  "Shoot  him  on  the  steps 
outside." 

Donovan  struck  a  fresh  match  and  lit  his  cigar. 
He  puffed  at  it  slowly. 

"It  pains  me  some,"  he  said,  "to  go  contrary 
to  my  life-long  principles.  I'm  a  humanitarian  by 
conviction  and  I'm  opposed  to  capital  punishment. 
It  seems  to  me  that  the  taking  of  human  life  is  not 
justified,  and  that  the  advance  of  civilization, 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  303 

especially  in  the  great  republic  of   which  I  am  a 

citizen " 

"He  is  a  spy,"  said  von  Moll,  "and  he  dies." 
"You're  hasty,  Captain,"  said  Donovan.  "I 
don't  blame  you,  but  you're  hasty  and  you  haven't 
quite  tumbled  to  my  meaning.  When  I  spoke  of 
my  humanitarian  principles  I  wasn't  thinking  of 
what  would  happen  to  Smith.  You  may  shoot  him, 
Captain,  and  I  shall  deplore  it.  But  that  won't 
outrage  my  convictions  any.  For  I  shan't  be  respon- 
sible, that  execution  being  your  affair  and  not  mine. 
What  I  was  thinking  of  was  how  I'd  feel  when  I 
saw  you  and  every  damned  one  of  your  pirates  hang- 
ing at  the  end  of  ropes  over  the  edges  of  the  various 
fancy  balconies  and  other  trimmings  which  adorn 
this  palace.  It  will  be  going  clean  against  my  prin- 
ciples to  arrange  that  kind  of  obituary  dangle  for 
you,  Captain.  I  may  have  some  trouble  soothing 
my  conscience  afterwards.  But  I  expect  that  can 
be  managed.  You  may  call  me  inconsistent  and 
you  may  be  right.  But  I'm  not  a  hide-bound  doc- 
trinnaire.  There  are  circumstances  under  which 
the  loftier  emanations  of  humanitarian  principle 
kind  of  flicker  out.  The  shooting  of  Smith  is  a 
circumstance  of  that  sort.  Your  treatment  of  the 
American  flag  is  another." 

Gorman  tells  me  that  he  suspected  Donovan  of 
attempting  a  gigantic  bluff.  He  admired  the  way 
he  did  it,  but  he  did  not  think  he  could  possibly 
succeed.  Donovan  did  not,  so  far  as  Gorman  could 
see,  hold  in  his  hand  a  single  card  worth  putting 


304  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

down  on  the  table.  Smith  stood,  cool  and  appar- 
ently uninterested,  between  the  two  sailors  who  had 
arrested  him.  Konrad  Karl  was  lighting  and  throw- 
ing away  cigarette  after  cigarette.  The  Queen  had 
grown  pale  at  the  mention  of  the  shooting  of  Smith ; 
but  she  kept  her  eyes  fixed  on  her  father.  She  did 
not  understand  what  he  was  doing,  but  she  had 
great  confidence  in  him.  Von  Moll  stared  at  Don- 
ovan with  an  insolent  sneer. 

"You  threaten,"  he  said,  "you  think  that  your 

American  Republic Pah !  what  is  America  ? 

You  have  no  army.  Your  navy  is  no  good.  What 
can  you  do?" 

"You're  taking  me  up  wrong  again,"  said  Dono- 
van. "I'm  not  reckoning  on  America  just  now. 
The  hanging  will  be  done  by  the  crew  of  the  Eng- 
lish ship  that  I'm  expecting  to  see  in  this  harbour. 
Not  to-day,  maybe,  or  to-morrow,  but  some  time 
before  the  end  of  this  darned  war." 

King  Konrad  Karl  threw  away  another  cigarette. 

"Alas  and  damn!"  he  said,  "by  this  time  there 
are  no  longer  any  English  ships." 

Gorman  was  watching  von  Moll  closely.  At  the 
mention  of  an  English  ship  the  man's  eyes  nickered 
suddenly.  For  an  instant  his  face  changed.  A 
shadow  of  uneasiness  appeared  on  it.  But  this 
passed  at  once,  and  the  look  of  insolence  took  its 
place.  Donovan  was  also  watching. 

"There  may  be  one  or  two  left,"  he  said.  "I 
don't  say  the  one  that  turns  up  here  will  be  a  first- 
class  battle  cruiser ;  but  I  guess  the  men  on  her  will 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  305 

be  up  to  the  little  job  of  hanging  you,  Captain. 
And  they'll  come.  Sure.  And  you'll  be  here,  just 
waiting  for  them." 

"I  shall  be  gone,"  said  von  Moll.  "Not  that  I 
fear  your  English  ship.  But  to-morrow  I  go,  and 
before  I  go,  to-day — I  shoot  the  spy." 

"You  misapprehend  the  situation,"  said  Dono- 
van. "As  a  warship  of  a  belligerent  Power  enter- 
ing a  neutral  harbour  you  are  liable " 

Von  Moll  laughed  aloud. 

"You  intern  me,"  he  said. 

"Well,"  drawled  Donovan,  "I  do.  Say,  Cap- 
tain, you  didn't  drop  in  here  just  for  the  pleasure 
of  shooting  Smith  and  carrying  off  the  King.  Those 
weren't  your  main  purposes.  I'm  not  an  observant 
man,  but  I  did  happen  to  notice  as  I  left  my  room 
that  your  ship  was  shifting  her  anchorage  a  bit. 
Now  I  wouldn't  say  that  it's  particularly  healthy, 
with  a  wind  like  this  blowing,  for  a  ship  to  lie  right 
under  those  cliffs,  slap  up  against  the  mouth  of  a 
cave.  I  give  you  credit,  Captain,  for  knowing  your 
trade  as  a  sailor,  and  I  don't  think  that  you'd  put 
your  ship  there  unless  you  wanted  something  out 
of  that  cave,  and  wanted  it  pretty  bad.  What's 
more,  Captain,  you  want  it  in  a  hurry.  Now  I  may 
be  wrong,  but  it's  my  opinion  that  what  you  expect 
to  find  there  is  petrol.  That  so?" 

It  was  plain — so  plain  that  even  King  Konrad 
Karl  saw  it — that  von  Moll  was  disturbed.  His 
confidence  was  not  what  it  had  been  earlier  in 


306  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

the  interview.  Donovan  went  on,  speaking  with 
irritating  deliberation. 

"Now  when  I  said  that  you  were  interned  in  the 
harbour  of  this  neutral  State,  Captain,  I  wasn't 
counting  on  your  respect  for  international  law. 
I  wouldn't  risk  a  dollar  on  that.  What  I  meant 
was  this.  The  petrol's  not  there.  Your  darned 
tanks  are  empty.  I'm  not  defending  the  action 
on  economic  grounds.  It  was  waste.  But  that 
petrol  is  gone.  We  ran  it  off." 

"You  have  not  dared,"  said  von  Moll.  "You 

could  not  dare No  one  but  a  madman  would 

touch  the  Emperor's  war  stores." 

"I  hope,"  said  Gorman,  "that  the  poor  old 
Emperor  won't  have  a  fit  when  he  hears  about 
it." 

"You  may  be  able  to  run  that  ship  a  mile  or 
two,"  said  Donovan.  "But  I  reckon  you'll  not  go 
far.  You  were  dependent  on  that  petrol?  Come 
now,  Captain,  own  up." 

What  von  Moll  intended  to  do  next  I  do  not 
know.  Gorman  is  of  opinion  that  he  might  very 
well  have  shot  the  whole  party.  He  was  white  with 
passion. 

Donovan  rose  from  his  chair,  stuck  his  cigar  in  a 
corner  of  his  mouth,  and  crossed  the  hall  towards 
the  door. 

"While  you're  sizing  up  the  situation,"  he  said 
to  von  Moll,  "I'll  just  see  if  I  can't  find  that  flag 
that  you  cut  down.  It  would  gratify  me  to  have 
it  flying  again.  You'd  better  come  with  me,  Smith. 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  307 

I'm  not  inclined  for  climbing  poles  in  this  storm.  I 
have  to  consider  my  heart." 

Smith  stepped  forward  and  followed  him.  It  is 
interesting  to  notice  that  the  sailors  who  guarded 
him  made  no  attempt  to  stop  him.  It  is  unlikely 
that  they  understood  English  well  enough  to  know 
what  Donovan  said  to  von  Moll.  But  they  were 
somehow  aware  that  their  captain's  authority  was 
failing. 

At  the  door  of  the  hall  Donovan  stopped  and 
turned  to  von  Moll. 

"Things  seem  to  be  happening,"  he  said,  "right 
up  to  expectation,  only  more  so.  I  own  I  didn't 
look  for  that  British  ship  quite  so  soon." 

He  stood  in  the  doorway  and  pointed  out  to  sea. 
Gorman  hurried  across  the  hall,  passed  Donovan 
and  went  out.  The  Queen  left  her  chair  and  ran  to 
her  father's  side.  Konrad  Karl  followed  her.  Von 
Moll  looked  round  him,  astonished,  slightly  dazed. 
Then  he,  too,  went  out,  pushing  his  way  past 
Donovan. 

Outside  the  reef,  plunging  and  rolling  heavily, 
was  a  small  steamer.  She  was  stumpy,  high  bowed, 
low  waisted,  with  a  short  black  funnel.  Her  bridge 
and  single  deckhouse  were  disproportionately  high. 
She  was  shabby  and  rusty.  She  looked  insignificant. 
She  was  swept  frequently  with  showers  of  white 
spray.  On  her  bow  and  on  her  funnel  could  be  seen 
the  white  letters  and  numbers  which  proclaimed 
her  proper  business.  She  was  a  trawler.  In  peace 


3o8  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

times  she  cast  nets  for  fish  in  the  North  Sea.  Now 
she  flew  the  white  ensign  and  on  her  fore-deck, 
above  the  high  blunt  bows,  she  carried  a  gun. 

There  were  men  handling  the  gun  amid  a  smother 
of  spray  and  the  swirl  of  water  round  their  legs. 
The  deck  on  which  they  stood  was  the  worst  of 
all  possible  gun  platforms.  In  the  course  of  each 
few  minutes  it  was  set  at  a  dozen  angles  as  the  little 
steamer  plunged  and  rolled.  But  the  men  fired. 
Their  shot  went  wide  of  the  submarine  which  lay 
01  the  harbour,  and  spluttered  against  the  side  of 
the  cliff.  The  trawler  staggered  on  towards  the  end 
of  the  reef.  Out  of  the  welter  of  grey  water  to 
windward  came  another  trawler,  then  a  third 
appeared  and  a  fourth. 

Gorman  edged  up  close  to  von  Moll  and  caught 
him  by  the  elbow. 

"I  say,  von  Moll,"  he  said,  "it's  jolly  lucky  for 
you  that  you  didn't  have  time  to  shoot  Smith.  That 
ship  of  yours  is  a  goner,  you  know.  It'll  be  a  jolly 
sight  pleasanter  for  you  to  be  a  prisoner  of  war  than 
to  be  dangling  about  on  the  end  of  a  rope  in  this 
beastly  wind.  And  Donovan  would  have  seen  to  it 
that  you  did  swing  if  you'd  shot  Smith.  There's 
nobody  so  vindictive  as  your  humanitarian  pacifist, 
once  you  get  him  roused." 

The  first  of  the  little  fleet  of  trawlers  swung  round 
the  end  of  the  reef  into  the  sheltered  water  of  the 
bay.  She  fired  again.  Her  deck  was  steady.  The 
target  was  an  easy  one.  One  shell  and  then 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  309 

another  hit  the  submarine,   ripped  her  thin  hull, 
burst  in  her  vitals. 

Half  an  hour  later  Maurice  Phillips  landed  on  the 
palace  steps. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

VON  MOLL,  though  courteously  invited,  re- 
used to  dine  with  the  Queen  that  night. 
Gorman,  I  think,  was  sorry  for  this.  He  was 
curious  to  see  how  a  German  naval  officer  behaves 
as  a  prisoner  of  war.  The  rest  of  the  party  felt 
that,  for  once,  von  Moll  had  shown  good  taste.  His 
presence  would  have  interfered  with  the  general 
cheerfulness. 

Donovan  tried  hard  to  induce  Smith  to  sit  at 
table,  taking  his  proper  position  as  Head  of  the 
Intelligence  Department  of  the  State.  But  the 
party  was  a  large  one.  Besides  Phillips,  who  sat 
next  the  Queen,  the  commanders  of  the  three  other 
trawlers  dined  in  the  palace.  King  Konrad  Karl 
appeared  decorated  with  all  the  stars,  badges  and 
ribbons  which  had  fallen  to  him  while  he  sat  on 
the  throne  of  Megalia.  Madame  Corinne  wore  the 
finest  of  the  dresses  she  had  acquired  from  the 
Queen,  and  was  in  high  good  humour,  though  a 
little  vexed  that  her  pearls  were  in  the  keeping  of 
a  banker  in  Paris.  Smith  felt  that  on  such  an 
occasion  the  dinner  should  be  properly  served,  and 
he  dared  not  leave  it  to  the  native  servants.  After 
dinner  he  consented  to  sit  at  the  foot  of  the  table 
with  a  glass  of  wine  in  front  of  him. 
310 


THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY  311; 

Konrad  Karl,  bubbling  with  excitement,  proposed 
the  Queen's  health  in  a  speech  full  of  mangled 
English  idioms.  Then  he  presented  the  Star  of  the 
Megalian  Order  of  the  Pink  Vulture  to  Phillips. 
He  took  it  from  his  own  breast  and  pinned  it  on  to 
Phillips'  coat  with  a  perfect  shower  of  complimen- 
tary phrases.  It  was  not  quite  clear  whether  the 
decoration  was  meant  as  a  reward  for  sinking  the 
submarine  or  for  winning  the  affection  of  the  Queen. 
Donovan  made  a  speech,  a  long  speech,  in  which  he 
explained  exactly  why  it  was  impossible  to  remain  a 
consistent  pacifist  in  a  world  which  contained  Ger- 
mans. Phillips  was  dragged  to  his  feet  by  Gorman. 
Goaded  by  the  derisive  shouts  of  his  three  fellow 
officers  he  gave  a  short  account  of  himself. 

"There's  nothing  much  to  tell,"  he  said.  "The 
whole  thing  was  rather  a  fluke.  I  was  called  up 
at  the  beginning  of  the  war.  R.N.R.,  you  know. 
They  gave  me  command  of  a  trawler,  a  perfectly 
beastly  kind  of  boat.  Been  hunting  the  submarines 
ever  since.  Infernal  dull  job.  Heard  this  fellow 
was  mouching  around  but  couldn't  find  him. 
Guessed  he'd  want  supplies  sooner  or  later.  Re- 
membered that  cave  and  made  a  bee  line  for  Salissa. 
Never  was  no  pleased  in  my  life  as  when  I  caught 
sight  of  him.  But  there  was  such  a  sea  running 
that  we  couldn't  shoot  for  nuts.  Had  to  wait  till 
we  got  inside.  Sunk  him  then.  That's  all  there 
is  to  tell." 


312  THE  ISLAND  MYSTERY 

That,  of  course,  is  not  all.  There  is  a  lot  more  to 
tell.  What  flag  flies  over  Salissa  now?  Who 
governs  the  island  ?  The  Emperor  knows.  Bland- 
Potterton  knows  and  often  tells  his  friends  in 
confidence.  I  know.  Donovan  knows.  So  does 
Smith.  But  we  cannot  make  our  knowledge  public. 
Gorman  tried,  by  means  of  a  carefully  worded 
question,  to  induce  the  Prime  Minister  to  make  a 
statement  in  the  House  of  Commons  about  Salissa. 
He  was  told  that  it  was  contrary  to  the  public 
interest  that  any  information  should  be  given. 
In  the  face  of  that  it  is,  of  course,  impossible  for  me 
to  write  anything.  What  happened  to  King  Konrad 
Karl  and  Madame?  Again,  I  must  not  give  an 
answer.  The  censors  have  decided,  quite  rightly, 
that  the  movements  of  royal  personages  are  not  to 
be  published.  Does  Smith  still  act  as  Donovan's 
valet,  and  if  so  where?  It  is  plain  that  nothing 
should  be  said  on  this  subject.  Smith  was  and  may 
still  be  the  head  of  the  Intelligence  Department  of 
Salissa.  Information  about  his  doings  would  be 
particularly  valuable  to  the  enemy. 

But  I  may  say  that  a  marriage  took  place  between 
Lieutenant-Commander  Maurice  Phillips,  R.N.R., 
and  a  lady  described  as  "Daisy,  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam Peter  Donovan,  Esq."  A  bishop  officiated. 
No  mention  was  made  in  the  announcement  of  the 
rank  and  title  she  held,  and  perhaps  still  holds. 


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